Detectives of Zootopia
by CaleMcManus21
Summary: What happens when two of Zootopia's detectives works together with two of Zootopia's greatest cops to solve a case more serious than the Missing Mammals Case?
1. Meet the Detectives Pt 1

My name is Jake, and I'm a human. I have white skin, short brown hair, and green eyes. I wear a white shirt, beige pants, white socks, and white sneakers. Does being the only human in Zootopia have it's perks? No. No it doesn't. Was I born here? Given that my 10 year old self was found in front of a house somewhere here? I guess that counts. Let's face it though, for the first few years, I was treated as a mammal with no fur. What was even more awkward for me was that several predators claim that I'm a predator because of how I looked. And a lot of preys claim that I'm prey because I look like something that predators will eat upon first sight. I don't see why they can't agree that I can be both. I mean, anyone can be anything right?

Then there's my friend Carrots. A bunny from BunnyBurrow. Now the sad thing is that because of the bunny population, her parents thought that every name in existence was taken and they don't want to give her a name that another bunny might have and a fight between parents will ensue claiming which bunny child is whose. So they named her carrots because they discovered that's all she wants as a young bunny. Anything carrot related, nothing else. Another odd thing is that she's not as tall as the other bunnies. What I mean by that is she's as tall as me. Once she grew a certain height, she moved out of BunnyBurrow and into Zootopia. Some say she's a rare species of rabbit, some went with a crazy imagination that she was an experiment. Me? I just think she just grew too fast.

The two of us are Detectives. If there's a crime the ZPD couldn't solve because they're nose deep in a case that they're busy solving, Carrots and I take care of it. Of course we need to ask permission from Chief Bogo who really isn't the type you would want to annoy. Once we get the all clear from him, Carrots and I begin our case.

As of now, I'm comfortable living in Zootopia. There are moments where I wondered if the human world was like this. Though I still have to get used to the banters whether I'm predator or prey.

Carrots and I were walking along the Zootopia Train Station. Each of us had a styrofoam cup of carrot ice cream. Which to be honest is not bad at all. I just had to get used on chewing frozen carrot chunks. Since that there was no case to solve, we figured to just hang out here for awhile.

"You know what'll be great with this?" I asked.

"No, what?" Carrots asked.

"Syrup" I answered. Carrots looked at me like I was crazy.

"Syrup? Jake the last time you had syrup, you spilled some on my fur."

"It wasn't that bad" I said with a smile.

"We had to cut some of my fur."

"Yes, and what happened afterwards?" I asked with a raised brow.

"I kicked you in the face" she said, trying to hide a smile.

"A kick like that would've knocked out a rhino" I said.

"That wasn't my hardest" she said with a grin. "You know I would never hurt you to that extent."

I was surprised. "You mean that wasn't-?!" My eyes lit up. "Ahh, sly bunny."

Carrots playfully nudged me. "Tough human."

I turned my head and groaned. "Oh man."

"What is it?" Carrots asked.

"It's Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps?! Let's go meet them!" She said excitedly.

"Don't make eye contact!" I pleaded.

"Jake, Jake, for goodness sake!" Nick called. I sighed.

"Hello Nick" I said.


	2. Meet the Detectives Pt 2

Officer Nick Wilde, and Officer Judy Hopps were Zootopia's greatest cops. And because of how big Zootopia is, we rarely cross paths and see each other. "So how's detective work treating you?" Nick asked.

"Oh it's very fun!" Carrots exclaimed. "You should see how Jake does his detective work! The way he examines rooms and clues is as cool as Sherlock Hound!" Nick was not surprised.

"Yes, Jake's mind works a little like Sherlock Hound" he said as if he's proud of me.

"Given that I read a lot of those novels" I said. "I thought you knew that."

"Oh you tell me everything" Nick said with a smug.

'I hate it when he's right' I thought to myself. Judy approached us and looked up at us because of our height differences.

"It's been so long! The last time we saw you guys, you were in Sahara Square trying to solve a case of a missing bus that came from Little Rodentia!"

This case happened a long time ago. And when Carrots and I solved it, Nick Wilde had just graduated the Zootopia Police Academy. "Yeah, where was the bus anyway?" Nick asked.

"It was behind the DMV" I answered. "Finding small vehicles is a lot harder than it sounds. What's worse was that the owner of that bus has short term memory loss. It was a very good thing that he didn't have passengers inside otherwise it would've been a very big problem."

Carrots giggled. "Yeah, after visiting the DMV, he walked home, totally forgetting the fact that he drove there." While the two bunnies dove deep into a conversation, Nick approached me.

"You know mom would be proud that you're a detective" he said.

"And mom would be proud that you're the first fox to join the ZPD" I added.

"We should tell her the news sometime" Nick said as he reached for my pocket. I noticed and quickly stepped back.

"Aha! You're doing it again!"

"What?" Nick asked as he raised his hands up defensively.

"That thing you always do!" A smile was beginning to grow on my face. "You always distract me by telling me how proud mom is and you attempt to take something from my pocket." The word 'mom' got the attention of both bunnies.

"Prove it" Nick said crossing his arms.

"Come on Nick, you were a con man once. You think selling pawpicles and using the sticks as red wood is all you do? Please, you hustled kids for their money and you did that on your 12th birthday. I can go on and on Nick. And felony tax evasions? Tsk tsk tsk tsk. I was beginning to wonder how you got away with that much money. You're lucky I kept my mouth shut around mom. And that's not all." I pulled out a slender orange carrot shaped pen and pressed a button.

" 'Hey Finnick, look what I got from Jake's pocket!' Isn't it awesome?" Nick's voice asked.

"And that was from when you told me how mom found me was the happiest moment in her life. And what did you do with the money? Oh, you were planning to buy a jumbo red ice pop. I believe that was on the same day where you met Judy. And you still had the money but pulled the 'I left my wallet' bit. You want me to erase evey conversation I have with you while attempting to take things out of my pockets? You gotta stop doing that. It's called a 'hustle', bro." I put the pen back into my pocket.

Nick was at a loss for words.

I looked up at the clock. "Well, I'm sorry to say, but Carrots and I must hurry on home and-"

"That was incredible!" Judy shouted. She was as shocked as he was. Carrots had a smile on her face. She's been working with me for so long every time I pull this off, it makes her feel proud. "Maybe Chief Bogo will assign us to work with you at some point."

"Oh I don't think that-"

"I think that'll be a great idea!" Carrots said. "Come on Jake, think about it. Zootopia's greatest detectives working with Zootopia's greatest cops. I have to admit, it does sound like a good idea. But for some odd reason, I don't see it working. The clock began chiming.

"Oh! We're almost late!" Judy cried out. She grabbed Nick by his tie and pulled him along. "Sorry, but there's a movie we're trying to catch." Nick still had a look of shock on his face.

"My brother hustled me..." He mumbled. As soon as they disappeared into the crowd, Carrots turned to me.

"You never told me you had a brother."

"Adopted brother" I corrected her.

"You didn't seem to excited to see him."

"Let's just say that there was a point in time where we didn't really get on good terms with each other."

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you later. Let's go home. I need to lie down."


	3. Invitations and an Embarrassing Moment

If you're wondering how a 24-year old 5 foot tall human male became roommates with a 24-year old 5 foot tall female rabbit, then you're asking the wrong guy. I may be a detective but I don't know everything. If you think I'm a detective and assume that I know everything,then that's very stereotypical. There are things that I don't know, like how I ended up here in the first place. I may have been living here since I was 10, but it never crossed my mind to think about my home. My real home in the human world. Are my friends and family worried about me? Do they even know that I'm gone? I wonder how everyone is doing.

I was looking out the train window and watched as we went by Tundra Town. I was so lost in thought, I didn't even realize Carrots was looking at me. I swear, it's like looking at a talker version of Judy. The gray fur, the violet eyes. They look so alike, I was even wondering if they're twins. To be fair, bunnies are great at multiplying so it's kinda hard to tell who's related to who. They could be friends, cousins, hell, maybe one is an aunt, and the other is a niece. When it comes to bunnies, you'll never know.

We eventually arrived at Savanna Central. Carrots and I exited the train along with several other mammals. It wasn't a long walk to our apartment which was a good thing. But having to walk after sitting on comfortable train cushions is hell. As soon as we stepped out, we were greeted with a familiar message on a large nearby TV screen on a building. "I'm Gazelle! Welcome to Zootopia!" Carrots smirked at me. I already know what she was thinking.

"Carrots, that was 4 weeks ago."

"But it was still funny" she said, playfully nudging me. We reached our apartment which looked more like a hotel than an actual apartment. Here's a fun fact. This used to be a hotel. Until the manager came up with an idea for visitors to live here instead of spending weeks staying.

If you can imagine a nice hotel, but not luxury nice or high class, then that's what this place is like. A nice hotel with indoor pools, gyms, a cafeteria, everything. It's not the best hotel in existence, but it's still manageable to spend a weekend in and have a fun time, or in this case, live in.

We walked towards the end of the lobby where several small lockers were at. These lockers are for mails. I took out a key from my pocket and inserted it into the lock. I turned it, and opened the door. There was one envelope inside. "Who's it from?" Carrots asked. My eyes widened a little.

'To: The Greatest Detectives in Zootopia

From: Gazelle'

"It's from Gazelle" I said a little nervously. Carrots smiled.

"Do you think it's a thank you note?" She asked teasingly.

"Thanking me for helping out by being a backup dancer because one of the tigers got sick?! I sure as hell hope not!" The memory of me being up there with no shirt, and only wearing socks, shoes, and shorts was haunting. "I can't believe someone tricked me into going up there! When I find out who it was, it isn't going to be pretty!" I closed the locker, locked it, and tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.

'Congratulations! You're one of the few hundred guests to attend my concert and after party tonight at 8:00 pm. I promise you, it will be a great night!'

"Do you think Judy and Nick will attend?" Carrots asked as we both got into an elevator.

"I'm pretty sure they're invited" I said as I pocketed the letter. "Gazelle did invite a few hundred mammals.

"You never told me Nick was your brother" Carrots said.

"To be honest... I would tell you, but then our moods will be ruined by the end of the story and I don't want that to happen on a night like this."

"I understand. You can tell me whenever you're ready."

"Ok" I said.

"Nick! Nick! Nick!" Judy called as she rushed into Nick's room which was about a floor above hers. "We are invited to Gazelle's concert and after party!" She said with excitement. Nick began laughing.

"I'm serious!" Judy said, waving the letter.

"Oh it's not that" Nick said. "You see, a few weeks ago, Gazelle had a practice session. The only time where guests can watch how she practices for her upcoming concerts. You see, one of her backup dancers couldn't make it so I tricked someone to fill in for him."

"Who?" Judy asked.

"My brother." He burst out laughing. "You should've seen the look on his face, he was so embarrassed."

"Jake?!" She asked, holding in a laugh.

"Yep. And to this day, he doesn't know I tricked him." Judy then became serious.

"You know, you never told me about your brother." Nick too became serious.

"Yeah..." He said. "About that..." He wiped a tear. "Is it ok if I tell you some other time? I don't want our moods to be ruined."

"Ok" Judy said with understanding. Nick pulled out a phone from his pocket and waved it. "Wanna see my brother dance? And how stupid he looks?" He asked. Judy's eyes widened with excitement.

At the ZPD several officers were huddled around Officer Clawhauser laughing and guffawing. They too got invited to the concert and after party, that is until Officer Clawhauser showed them a video on his phone. "Detective Wilde?!" Officer McHorn asked. "Who's idea was it to put him up there?!"

"I don't know" Officer Clawhauser giggled. "But this is much better than me wanting to be up there!" Officer Clawhauser was in the front row recording the whole thing. I was the only one on the stage with the most grumpiest look I ever had in my life. Over the recording, along with the song 'Try Everything' Officer Clawhauser could be heard stifling his own giggles.

In the chief's office, Chief Bogo also got an invitation and he was watching the video that a mammal sent him. He was stifling his laughs. Just then, Officer Clawhauser barged into his office. "Chief! Did you see-" Chief Bogo quickly turned off his phone and flipped it over. "Were you watching the video?" He asked excitedly.

"Uh... No..." He then glared. "Go away!"

"You were, weren't you?" Officer Clawhauser asked as he held up his phone with the video of me still playing. Chief Bogo then grinned. He joined Officer Clawhauser and the other officers in the lobby sharing the video.

The most embarrassing thing for me was that I had no idea that all of this was happening.

In my apartment, while I was taking a shower, Carrots pulled out her phone, turned the volume all the way off and watched a video she recorded of me being one of the backup dancers.


	4. The Concert and a Warning

I was wearing a white long-sleeved collard shirt, a black buttoned up vest, a black suit jacket, black pants, a black belt with a gold buckle, black socks, and black shoes. I was standing near the entrance of the Savanna Central Stadium along with the few hundred guests that were invited. This stadium was normally used for sports, but because of the concert, all sports games were cancelled until the concert was over. Thank God this concert wasn't the one Gazelle has been practicing where I was a temporary backup dancer. Otherwise I wouldn't be standing here.

I turned my head and saw Carrots approaching me. She wore a purple dress that matched her eyes, and black shoes. "The dress matches your eyes" I commented.

"I picked it out" she said with a smile.

"And I paid for it" I added. "Expensive, but it was well worth it."

"Jake, Jake, for goodness sake!" I heard a familiar voice call.

"Hi Nick" I said without turning my head to look at him.

"Come on Jake, is that how you treat your brother?"

"In a way yes, because I was in the middle of-" I turned to look at Nick but gasped. Nick wore a black suit and tie with a thornless rose tucked in his front shirt pocket. Next to him was Judy, who wore a black dress, black shoes, and had her arm tucked under his. "Well, well, well" I said with a grin. "Looking sly there, Nick. Who knew an ex con artist, turned cop could dress so smoothly."

"Come on, this is the same suit you picked for me to wear for that party after graduating the Zootopia Police Academy."

"True, but I didn't think you would wear it tonight."

"Come now Jake, you really think I don't appreciate this piece of fine clothing? After all you spent?" He did have a point.

"Well when you put it that way..."

"My... Aren't you a wonderful brother" Judy commented.

"Aw thanks and... You're not recording this are you?" I asked.

"Please, on a night like this? That pen stays home" Judy said. Carrots approached her and the two got themselves deep into a conversation. We have about an hour and a half before we could enter. Nick approached me and gestured me to crouch down a little. As I got down, he started to fix my collar.

"You remember that night when mom hosted that party three days after your 11th birthday?" He asked me.

"Yeah. That was the first anniversary where you guys welcomed me into your home."

"You may be older than me, but you didn't know how to fix a collar" he laughed. "A young fox fixing the collar of a human who is 3 months older than him."

"And to this day, you still have to do it" I said with a laugh causing Nick to laugh too.

"Seriously Jake" Nick said after my collar was fixed and straightened. He put his hands to his sides. He is showing that right now, he's so serious, he isn't trying to hustle something out of my pocket whenever he talks about great memories between us. "You walking in through that door to be an official adopted member of the Wilde family was the best thing that ever happened to us. Even though dad left me, and my mom... I got a brother and she got another son in return."

"And being raised by foxes was remarkable."

"Ah... You still remember everyone."

"For one, your sister had a crush on me, thinking that I was a new kid on the block. When she found out that I was going to be her new brother, she let out the loudest scream of joy I've ever heard."

"Yeah, she is quite the loud one when it comes to good news. Even my aunts, uncles, and cousins welcomed you with loving hearts and open arms."

"That certainly was a great night" I said.

"Yeah it sure was" I said.

"Ladies and gentlemen, guests of Gazelle..." a tiger said. "Please enter the stadium for the concert and please take your seats."

"Right..." I said as I adjusted Nick's tie. I approached Carrots and offered my hand to her. "Shall we go in?"

"We shall" she answered as she took my hand. We both entered the stadium.

The stadium was very large. Hundreds of seats lined up neatly row by row. Carrots and I watched as the big mammals took the back seats, the medium sized mammals took the medium sized seats, and the tiny rodents took the front.

Several entrances on different sides of the stadium have been made for mammals to avoid injury, confusion, and separation of families. One entrance was made for the tiny mammals, the entrance that Carrots and I went through were made for the medium mammals, and another entrance was made for the large mammals.

Carrots and I sat somewhere on the fifth row where we could get a good view of the entire place. Nick and Judy joined us a few seconds later. Apparently they were walking behind me. "I've never seen the stadium this full before" Carrots said as the entire stadium was slowly being filled with conversing mammals. I could see flashes from the cameras on phones, some mammals took selfies, and I took a glimpse of mammals texting. Yes, waiting for Gazelle was the boring part. But once she arrives, this whole place will be roaring with excitement.

Nick noticed that I was looking around my surroundings. "What is it?" He asked.

"I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen tonight."

"During the concert?"

"I didn't say during the concert, I said 'tonight'. It might be during the performance, it might be during the after party."

"Will you settle down? Your job is to solve crimes after they happen, not attempt to prevent them from happening. Besides, the ZPD arrived." He pointed to a small squad of ZPD officers including Chief Bogo and Officer Clawhauser.

"Looks like they're both on guard duty and were invited to the concert" I said. "By the way, why aren't you and Judy down with them?"

"Chief Bogo gave us time off. A paid day off."

"Oh? How unusual of the chief to do such a thing. Could it be because he might be aware that you and Judy are dating?" Nick faced me.

"For your information, the entire ZPD doesn't know we're dating. And we appreciate it that you don't mention it to them. Besides how did you know we were dating?"

"Please, I'm a detective, I could read you two like a children's novel."

"Ok... Try me" he challenged. I faced him and stared for a few seconds.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The performance will begin shortly!" The announcer said over the loud speakers.

"I'm a little busy right now" I said, facing the stage.

"Are you?" Nick Wilde asked with a smirk.

"Yeah. As a matter of fact I am. I'm busy waiting for the concert to begin." Nick laughed at what I said.

"Does Jake really know we're dating?" Judy asked.

"Yeah he does. I just like making him feel like he doesn't." Judy giggled. I heard everything they said.

"Sly fox" I said.

"Dumb human" he retaliated.

"Whatever."

"Do you really know that they're dating?" Carrots asked.

"Yeah... But Nick has a habit of making me feel like I don't. I hate it when he does that."

As the last of the mammals took their seats, not a single mammal in the stadium noticed a gray wolf leaning on the balcony. His paws were clenched into fists and his eyes were filled with anger. "How dare she didn't invite me!" He growled to himself. "I'm her fan too, yet she didn't even bother to send me an invitation!"

Just then, the lights turned off and bright neon colored strobe lights flicked on, causing everyone to cheer. I absentmindedly stood up and threw my fist in the air, cheering. Several mammals did the same. At the corner of my eyes, I saw Carrots, and Nick stand up too. Nick picked up Judy and placed her on his shoulders.

The middle of the stage began to slide open.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oooh!" We heard the familiar singing voice. The cheers got louder.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oooh"

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oooh" in the middle of the stage, a platform began to rise up like an elevator. Standing in the middle was Gazelle and on the sides around her, were her backup tiger dancers.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oooh!"

"I messed up tonight, I lost another fight"

"I still mess up but I'll just start again."

"I keep on falling down, I keep on hitting the ground"

"I always get up now to see what's next."

"Birds don't just fly, they fall down and get up"

"Nobody learns without getting it won."

"I won't give up, no I won't give in"

"Till I reach the end, and then I'll start again."

"No I won't leave, I wanna try everything."

"I wanna try even though I could fail."

"I won't give up, no I won't give in"

"Till I reach the end, and then I'll start again."

"No I won't leave, I wanna try everything."

"I wanna try even though I could fail."

While everyone in the audience cheered and applauded the envious wolf up on the balcony in the back just glared and glared, his paws clenched tighter and tighter. 'Once your song ends... You'll pay for not inviting me.'

As the song continued, I got distracted a flash of light. I turned my head and saw the wolf on the balcony twirling a knife. One of the lights above us was reflecting off the blade. He appears that he doesn't notice me which was a good thing for me. Although it was a suspicious sight, I turned back to face the stage and took my mind off it to enjoy the concert. I'll look for and question him later. Right now, I'm focused on the celebrity singing and dancing on the stage right now.

"Look how far you've come, you filled you heart with love."

"Baby you've done enough that cut your breath."

"Don't beat yourself up, don't need to run so fast"

"Sometimes we come last, but we did our best."

"I won't give up, no I won't give in"

"Till I reach the end, and then I'll start again."

"No I won't leave, I wanna try everything."

"I wanna try even though I could fail."

"I won't give up, no I won't give in"

"Till I reach the end, and then I'll start again."

"No I won't leave, I wanna try everything."

"I wanna try even though I could fail."

"I'll keep on making those new mistakes."

"I'll keep on making them every day."

"Those new mistakes."

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oooh"

"Try everything."

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oooh"

"Try everything."

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oooh."

"Try everything."

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oooh."

"Try everything..." As the song ended, the whole stadium went wild. Up on the balcony, the wolf put his knife away and snuck away from the balcony. "Thank you" Gazelle into,her mic said over the cheers and applauses. "Thank you" she said again. Slowly the cheers and applauses soon died down. "First off, I would like to thank everyone for attending tonight's concert. And second, the after party will be held in the Great Savanna Hotel." As she talked, I felt my phone vibrate because of a text. I pulled out my phone and turned it on. I saw the following message.

I.M.

'Hello Jake. You better keep a close eye of a certain unwanted guest. He might cause trouble.'

I sent a reply.

'Who is this? How did you get this number?'

I.M.

'You know who I am. And as for how I got your number... I can acquire anything. Be careful out there Jake. And like I said, there's an unwanted guest roaming in the audience. We don't want anyone dying tonight now do we?'

I turned off my phone and put it away. I actually do know who it was but I didn't want to believe it until my hunches were correct. Before I knew it, the stadium lights flicked back on and the mammals got up to head over to the hotel for the after party.

As I stood up and followed Nick, all I could think of was the unwanted guest that is here that the ominous message warned me about. Could it be the wolf that I briefly saw during the performance, or could it be someone completely different? One thing's for certain. Out of the hundreds of guests plus the one celebrity, no one is safe tonight. If I make a report, but find out that it was all false, then it would be extremely humiliating. This is something I have to do. And I alone.


	5. How Does a Detective Fight?

The Great Savanna Hotel is bigger than the Palm Tree Hotel. The problem is that the prices to stay at the Great Savanna Hotel are so high, that it's like only the rich and famous can stay here. To be fair, there is exquisite dining, fine furniture, and very comfortable rooms, even the shops and casinos are worth spending an entire day at. To put it short, 85% of this hotel will be perfect to add on cruise ships.

Since the after party is held on the lobby, all the other rooms have been closed off to us guests. The lobby floor is covered with a velvet carpet, and there's furniture that could empty your wallet if you were to damage it. And I mean empty. It includes your cashes, credit cards, even gift cards, which I find really strange. The lobby is so big, that it has three floors. The stairs to each lobby floor went up in a spiral way. Like a giant snake coiled around something.

The place was filled with mammals, tables were lined up with the most mouth-watering food you could think of, (fun fact, all meats in Zootopia are vegetarian), there was a bar on the second floor, and the third floor is mainly for lounging. There's a large table for card games, there's a ping pong table, and there are chess tables as well.

The Palm Tree Hotel has some of this stuff as well, but it definitely isn't high class as this. The scent of food and liquor filled my nose and the sounds of conversing guests rang through my ears. What's cute was that there was a miniature version of this hotel. It was so small, only the tiny rodents could see it. If you're worried that a large mammal might step on it accidentally, you're mistaken. Because it's inside the walls. Not only that, there is a small crevice on the outer wall of the hotel where the tiny rodents can go through to enter the miniature hotel.

I was sitting on one of the steps with a styrofoam bowl of fruits and carrots. Carrots approached me with a styrofoam bowl of potatoes and vegetarian meat. "You read my mind" I said with a smile.

"And you read mine" she giggled as we traded bowls. We have this habit of getting each other's foods (and occasionally, drinks). I'm starting to wonder if Carrots is starting to pick up my abilities.

"How did you know I wanted meat and potatoes?" I asked.

"It was simple. You've been staring at that pot of potatoes for 10 minutes ever since we got here. And I noticed the quick glances you took."

"Well I mean I could be looking at something else."

Carrots made a buzzing sound. "I saw your pupils. They were shifting to the left and back to the center alternately at a pace so fast, I almost got dizzy just by looking at them. Your eyes never left the food table. And clearly, the potatoes are in the middle of the table while the meat is placed all the way to the left. And, with your eyes moving from left to center, I can tell that you were trying to decide which would you want to eat. So I made that decision for you. Both. And you know I wanted fruits because I eat fruits on Fridays and Saturdays only. And tonight is Friday."

I stand corrected. She picked up my abilities.

Nick was gathering some food of his and Judy's likings and adding them on a large styrofoam plate. He and Judy were planning to share their food. "So when do you think is a good time to announce our relationship to everyone?" Judy asked.

"I don't know" Nick said. "Every chance we get, it immediately becomes a bad time."

"Jake knows" she said.

"He's a detective. He'll know most about you just by looking at you. I swear, he once looked at this wolf for 3 seconds and he listed 16 things on how he can be a terrible boyfriend to a lioness the wolf liked."

"And then what happened?" Judy asked as she grabbed two forks.

"The wolf tried to fight him... Jake won. One of these days, you'll see how he fights."

"Slow and steady wins the battle?" She asked. "He waits until his opponent gets all tired up and he unleashes all the energy he has stored?" Nick laughed.

"Well... Not exactly." Judy began wondering how a detective like me fights.

I tossed my empty bowl into a nearby trash can. "I'm going to get some water" I said, approaching a large set of doors leading into the hall.

"There's water here" Carrots said.

"With a line like that, and this many mammals, the only thing I'll be getting is ice and I have to wait several hours for it to melt. I prefer the water fountain!" I was shouting because of the loud conversations.

"You don't have to shout Jake, I can hear you" she said, despite the loud conversations between mammals.

"Ok" I said. Although I couldn't hear myself, Carrots could hear me. "But I'm still going to the water fountain." I opened the doors and stepped out into the hall. Carrots smiled and shook her head.

If you think the lobby is beautiful, check out the hall! Small chandeliers hung from the ceilings, paintings of various districts were drawn on the ceilings and walls, and on the floor were stitched versions of the paintings on the ceiling and walls. Ok, let me put it like this. You ever seen something so beautiful that every time you try to describe it to someone they can't get a mental picture and what you described doesn't sound as beautiful and elegant compared to what you just saw? That's the hall. Beautiful to the eyes, but very difficult to explain it.

"Are you sure ma'am?" I heard a voice ask. I ducked around the corner.

"Of course" Gazelle said. "I don't need a bodyguard right now. I'm just going to the water fountain. It's just right there."

"Ok... Please take care."

"Don't worry, this is a perfectly safe hotel and everyone here is a guest." I heard the door close and the muffled footsteps of Gazelle approaching my direction. Suddenly I lost my urge to drink. I decided to sneak my way back to the lobby until I heard a muffled scream.

"Quiet!" I heard a soft rough voice whisper. I turned my head and quietly went back the opposite direction and peeked around the corner. The wolf from earlier had cornered Gazelle. He was almost the same height as her, he had one paw over her muzzle and a knife in his free hand. A tactical knife to be exact. He ignored her muffled whimpers. "I was your biggest fan for so long and you invite all your fans except me? Why? Why would you do that?" He asked. I stared at him.

'You're not a fan. You're just a murderous stalker jealous of her fame and wealth. I'm just a detective and I'm not complaining.' I remained quiet as I slowly approached the two.

Gazelle struggled against the wolf but he just held her muzzle tighter. "Scream and cry all you want" he whispered. "It's only us two in this hall and no one is around" he said with an excited (more like psychotic) grin. "No one will know about your disappearance" he aimed the knife at her chest. Gazelle closed her eyes and began to let out muffled whimpers. I stared at my target with a glare, but remained extremely focused. 'Tactical knife in right hand, a lead pipe in his right pocket, another tactical knife in his back pocket. Chances for grabbing the pipe is a lot higher. Might as well use it.'

'First... Pillage the nest.' (I pushed the wolf away from Gazelle. I then used sleight of hand to grab the lead pipe from his pocket).

'Clip right wing.' (The wolf charges at me with the knife but I quickly blocked it with the pipe and used my free hand to strike his wrist, causing him to drop his knife).

'Then, numb left wing.' (As the wolf attempts to punch me with his other paw, I grabbed it with my free hand, and struck it with the lead pipe).

'Now, blunt his beak.' (I punch him in the face).

'Crack eggs.' (I struck him in the groin with the pipe).

'Stir the yolk.' (I backhanded him with the pipe, causing him to spit out a little blood).

'Scramble.' (I strike him with the pipe, and punch him in the chest alternatively a few times).

'Pinch of salt.' (I jab him in the ribs with the pipe).

'A touch of pepper.' (I strike him with the pipe again, this time on both of his arms).

'Add chives.' (I head-butt him and we both stagger back. I dropped the pipe).

'Flip the omelette.' (As the wolf charges at me, he grabs me, but I quickly perform a hip throw).

'Additional seasonings are necessary.' (I kick him in the face, rendering him unconscious).

'Voila... Breakfast is now served.'

I rushed forward and quickly pushed the wolf aside. Before he fell to the floor, I quickly grabbed the lead pipe from his pocket. I stood in front of Gazelle, with my back facing her. "Get out of the way human!" The wolf threatened as he gripped his tactical knife tightly. "I'm her number one fan! No one else! Me! Only me!" He charged at me. He attempted to slash at me, but I quickly blocked the blade with the pipe and struck his wrist with my free hand. The wolf cried out and dropped the knife.

He tried to punch me with his other paw but I quickly grabbed it with my free hand and banged the pipe against his arm and quickly punched him in the face. I quickly crouched down and hit him in the groin with pipe. Before he could make a noise, I got up and backhanded him in the face with the pipe, causing him to spit a little blood on his shirt. I struck both of his arms with the pipe making it go a little limp. I punched him and struck him in the chest with the pipe a few times before head-butting him.

Gazelle gasped because the impact looked incredibly painful. I dropped the pipe and staggered back. "Are you all right?" She asked worriedly. I had a bruise on my forehead.

"No" I answered. The wolf charged at me and grabbed me.

"I'm gonna kill you!" He yelled. I quickly performed a hip throw and as soon as he hit the floor, I kicked him in the face, knocking him out.

"Still not ok" I said as I backed against the wall, grasping my forehead. 'Why did I think head-butting him was a good idea?' I thought to myself. I slid down to a sitting position, groaning in pain. "God damn it" I muttered softly. Gazelle helped me up as I kept staggering. "No really, I'm all right" I said in a way that I'm about to pass out any moment.

"No you're not" she said as she lead me to the room she came out from before being ambushed. Inside were Chief Bogo, a few ZPD officers along with Gazelle's bodyguards and backup dancers.

"Detective Wilde!" One of the wolf officers gasped. "What happened?"

"I was ambushed" Gazelle said.

"Are you all right?" A tiger bodyguard asked.

"Yes. The assailant is over there."

"Get that scum to the station now" Chief Bogo said. "I want officers patrolling the hotel, any suspicious guests will be questioned." As the wolf was handcuffed and dragged away, I raised my head up almost drunkly.

"Oh, I'll guard Gazelle" I said, slurring.

"Oh no. You did enough by saving Gazelle and badly damaging yourself in the process. You are to remain here until you're back on your feet!"

"Yes sir" I said, saluting. My body went limp and I slipped out of Gazelle's grasp and sprawled on the floor.

"Get him on that sofa" Chief Bogo ordered. "McHorn, Francine, you're on guard duty until he feels better.

"Yes sir" the rhino and elephant said in unison as I was placed on the sofa.

"He'll be fine" Chief Bogo assured Gazelle as he lead everyone out of the room except Officers McHorn, Francine, and me alone in the room.

"Where am I?" I mumbled after the door closed.

"In Gazelle's hotel room. She'll be staying here for the night" Officer McHorn answered. I tried to ask them if I could be moved to another room but I ended up moaning and eventually passed out. I wish I didn't head-butt that psychotic wolf. I was in the hotel for only 30 minutes and here I am in a makeshift infirmary of sorts.


	6. News Crew and an Ominous Message

I came to groggily. I may have knocked myself out with that damn head-butt, but at least I didn't suffer memory loss. To test to see if I truly don't have memory loss, I recalled the events. 'I stopped an assailant from assaulting Gazelle, the head-butt was so rough, it rendered my unconscious. This is Gazelle's hotel room... I'm supposed to stay here until I'm feeling all better. I'm being watched by...' I turned my head and saw Officers McHorn and Francine watching TV. It was a game show of sorts. Instead of winning money, they win items that you don't normally find in stores. I think it's much easier to call the number on the screen and order the items instead of going all the way over to that studio to participate in the game. 'Ah, my bodyguards during my recovery.'

"Ah, Detective Wilde, you're awake" Officer Francine said.

"How long was I out unconscious?" I asked.

"Surprisingly... 5 minutes only" she said.

"Only?!" I asked. "I thought I was out longer!"

"Yeah, your brother came in here earlier along with Judy, Carrots, and Gazelle" Officer McHorn said, without even turning to me. "You should've seen how worried they were. They left here 2 minutes ago. They should be outside the room waiting for you."

"Thanks guys, I'm feeling much better."

"The Chief also said if you're experiencing more dizziness, you should report back here."

"In Gazelle's room? Why can't I get my own room?"

"After what she went through, AND while you were unconscious, she signed you up to be her bodyguard."

"I'm a detective, though. What if a crime needs to be solved?!"

"It's not a 24/7 job, Jake!" I heard Nick's voice from behind the door. I approached the door and opened it. I stepped out in the hall where Nick, Judy, Carrots, and Gazelle stood and closed the door.

"I'm a detective Nick. I'm not qualified to be a bodyguard to a celebrity. I'm almost as tall as a wolf and I certainly don't have the muscles of a tiger."

"Relax, it's just for tonight" Carrots said.

"And your brother and friends agreed to be on bodyguard duty with you" Gazelle added. "And just like Detective Carrots said... It's only for tonight."

"Tonight, huh?" I asked. "Sure, I can do that."

"Great!" Nick said happily. "Now come on, there's a news crew out in the lobby."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" I said backing away. "Nick, you should know by now that I don't deal with the media. One wrong word and it'll be hell for me." Gazelle placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry. They want to interview me too" she said.

"And they want to interview you guys too, right?" I asked.

"Oh we already done it" Judy said with a smile.

"What?!" I asked, shocked.

"Jake, it's not as bad as you might think" Carrots added.

"Yeah, so will you stop being so paranoid and get out there?" Nick asked as he began pushing me towards the door that lead to the lobby.

"You know, I'm going to get you for this" I said as the girls followed.

"I know" Nick said with a grin. I grasped the door handle, bracing myself for the hell that's behind the door. Gazelle stepped up behind me and nodded her head as if she's assuring me that I'll be fine. I sighed and pulled the door open. Gazelle and I then stepped into the lobby.

"Gazelle! Gazelle! Gazelle!" Several news reporters and other crew members yelled, their voices overlapping each other. I stepped to the side to avoid being trampled by the mob of news reporters. "We heard you've been attacked! Is everything all right?" Several microphones were aimed at her.

"If Zootopia is that concerned about me, I can honestly say that I'm feeling fine. There is no reason to be worried at the moment." Several cameras began flashing and shuttering. "And if it wasn't for a brave human who took on the would-be assassin, I surely would break hearts and devastate my fans."

Suddenly, the news crew turned their attention to me. Microphones, and cameras were pointed at me with lightning speed. "Detective Wilde!" A beaver said. "We heard that you've been assigned to be Gazelle's bodyguards after her traumatizing incident! Tell us, how does it feel to be the first and only human to be her bodyguard?"

I felt Gazelle place her hand on my back. In the corner of my eye, I saw her mouth 'It's ok' to me. "To be honest..." I began steadily choosing my words carefully. "The position isn't official. I've only been assigned to be her bodyguard for tonight only."

"And if he's successful, I'll be happy to assign Jake, and his friends up to be on bodyguard duties for me permanently..." As Gazelle continued talking, I was in a daze because I had a feeling something was wrong. As I scanned through the crowd of news reporters and guests, something caught my eye.

All the way in the back, where no one bothered to look and where he couldn't be seen, I saw a figure dressed in black. Black gloves, black boots, a black coat, and a black hat. It definitely was a mammal, but as for the species, it was really difficult to tell. He had tucked his tail under his coat, and the collar of his jacket plus his hat kept his head and face shadowed. With one gloved paw, he pulled out a phone and typed a text. He then sent it and pocketed his phone. I felt the vibration of the phone in my pocket. I pulled it out just a little so that I could see and turned it on. I felt my heart stop for a millisecond.

I.M.

'I warned you about the unwanted guest, didn't I?'

I used my thumb to type.

Me: 'I did! It was the wolf with the tactical knives! He almost killed Gazelle! I stopped him and now he's arrested!'

I glanced up at the figure, ignoring all that's happening around me. Thank God the news crew were still focused on Gazelle. I felt my phone vibrate again. I pulled it out slightly and turned it on.

I.M.

'He wasn't the guest I had in mind. But you're right on the tactical knife part... I warned you someone was going to die tonight if the unwanted guest wasn't stopped.'

I glanced up and looked at the mysterious figure. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tactical knife with blood soaking the blade. He pocketed it and disappeared into the dark.

"Detective Wilde!" A news reporter said, getting my attention. I snapped out of it and turned to the female snow leopard.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Tell us! How do you feel about..." A drunk wolf pushed his way past the news crew and drunkly staggered in front of the cameras.

"Gazelle is awesome, I tell you!" He shouted as he grabbed the sides of one of the cameras and shook it for awhile. "She is awesome and beautiful! I would buy every album and merchandise! Hell, I'll even attend every event she hosts!" The wolf turned to me. "Put in a good word for me!" He was so drunk. He was unaware that Gazelle was standing right next to him.

"I don't even know you" I said, trying to push him away.

"Please! Tell her that I'll be a good bodyguard!" The wolf hugged me very tightly.

"Will you get off me?" I asked as I struggled to get away from him. During the struggle, the both of us lost our balances and fell to the floor.

"And there you have it" the female snow leopard said, turning to the cameras. "Singing sensation Gazelle is alive and well! And we can expect more of her concerts and possibilities of brand new songs and albums! Then there's Detective Jake Wilde: First and only human bodyguard of singing sensation, Gazelle for one night only. Will he be assigned to be her personal bodyguard along with his brother and friends in the future? It all depends on what Gazelle has to say... This is the crew of ZNN Live at the Great Savanna Hotel. Goodnight everybody."

In the background, I continued to fight my way out the wolf's grasp. "I said let go of me, you drunk bastard!" Gazelle, Nick, and Judy appeared to enjoy every minute of me trying to escape the hug of the drunk wolf.

Back in the stadium, the mysterious figure approached one of the seats on the very side on the middle row. "I see that you're still managing to survive" he said, sitting next to a wolf with a stab wound on his chest.

"Go to Hell" the wolf gasped, trying to breathe steadily.

"I will. At some point. It's a shame that you won't be the one to send me there."

"Detective Jake will stop you" the wolf said.

"That's the name I want to hear!" The mysterious figure laughed. "But will he send me to Hell first? Or will I kill him first? That's the #1 question isn't it?" The mysterious figure looked at the wolf's watch. "Well I must be off. I got a lot more victims to kill. Hang in there, alright?" He asked. The wolf began groaning in pain while breathing rapidly. The mysterious figure then pulled out a handgun with a silencer attached to it and cocked it. "And don't worry... I'll tell my remaining victims that you said 'hi'. You all know each other anyway... Kind of."

"You wouldn't!" The wolf growled.

"Yes I would... And they'll be joining you soon." He shot the dying wolf in the head. He then nonchalantly left the stadium.


	7. Consider This a Challenge

The news crew and about 50 guests had already left the hotel to head on home. The party however was still going on, 'Try Everything' was playing over some loudspeakers, and Gazelle was mingling with some guests including Officer Clawhauser and Judy Hopps. I was at the bar drinking a small sized glass filled with a yellowish liquid and ice. Carrots approached me from behind. She shook her head while looking at me almost worriedly. "Jake, this is not good." She took the glass from me and gave it to the bartender. "Dump this... I think my friend had enough already."

"What is it Carrots?" I asked. I was not drunk, but a little disturbed.

"Jake, I know so well, it won't take me long to know that you drink things strangely when you're disturbed or if something is troubling you. You once drank coffee in a glass when you had 3 consecutive nightmares about me leaving you, and 2 weeks ago, you drank milk... From the carton while also adding chocolate powder and ice cubes inside it after watching a horror movie that you found both scary and a complete waste of time. What is it this time?"

"Nothing is wrong" I lied. Carrots wasn't convinced.

"Jake, you were drinking the juice of a lemon in a glass... With ice." The extreme sourness lingered in my mouth. I shut my eyes tightly and began groaning. Carrots rubbed my back. "Give him something to wash the taste please" she said to the camel bartender. As the bartender prepared something, Carrots swiveled my seat around so I was facing her. "Tell me what happened."

"I saw him..." I said softly as the bartender placed alcoholic cider in front of me. Carrots's eyes widened. "I saw him Carrots..." My eyes were a little red as if I'm about to cry. "Ichabod Moran." I handed her my phone. She turned it on and saw the texts that 'I.M.' sent me. Carrots covered her mouth with her paw and let out a muffled gasp. She removed her paw from her mouth and handed the phone back to me.

"The serial killer we've been trying to catch for 2 years?" I nodded my head.

"And also the serial killer who is so elusive, not even the entire ZPD knows about him" I added.

"But we do" Carrots said. I nodded my head again. I picked up the glass and gulped down almost half of the drink. We were unaware that Nick had approached us.

"Uh guys? I don't know if this is a good time, but Chief Bogo wants to see you at the stadium. Now."

"What about guarding Gazelle?" I asked.

"She needs to come along too. Chief Bogo claims that she knows the mammal Chief Bogo wants us to 'meet'. If you get my meaning." Carrots and I looked at each other.

At the stadium, Chief Bogo, Clawhauser, McHorn, Francine, me, Judy, Nick, Carrots, Gazelle and a few other officers stood around the body of a wolf still sitting on his seat with a stab wound and a bullet hole in his head. Gazelle did know him. He was a fan that never hesitated to ask for her autograph and a selfie whenever he saw her.

Chief Bogo turned to me. "Ok detective, you're up" he said gruffly. I nodded my head and approached the body. I was given latex gloves so I won't get fingerprints on him.

First, I examined the stab wound for awhile. "The stab wound is deep... But judging the depth of it... He was still alive for another 5 minutes. I examined his legs and pressed my hand against them. No sign of broken bones nor paralysis, but I couldn't be sure. It'll be a huge mistake if I theorized before I even have data... (Which I do sometimes).

"Why didn't he leave the stadium like everyone else?" Officer Clawhauser asked. I noticed that his muzzle was a little damp.

"He did" I said. "But..." I began to think.

(After the concert, the wolf got up to go to the bathroom. He then washed his paws with soap. While he was drying them, Ichabod Moran crept up behind him and clamped a chloroform soaked rag over his nose and mouth. As the wolf struggled, Ichabod Moran waited until he passed out and dragged him back here. While he was knocked out, Ichabod stabbed him and waited patiently for the wolf to wake up).

"And the bullet hole?" An officer asked.

"The killer must have got really impatient for him to die from the stab wound" Carrots said.

At the back of my mind, I was thinking Ichabod Moran did it. But at the same time, there could be a possibility that someone working for him finished the job. "There's one more thing you guys failed to notice" I said.

"What?" Chief Bogo asked curiously. I moved aside.

"This wolf was one of the 14 mammals that went missing."

"He's right!" Nick exclaimed. "I recognize him!" The officers looked closely and a commotion erupted.

"All right, settle down!" Chief Bogo ordered. He turned to me and Carrots. "Detectives... Since we are fully aware of your abilities, we'll give this case to you. But... You can only take one possession to help you while the body and the other possessions will be taken to the morgue."

We both nodded our heads in understanding. "Which item do you want?" Carrots asked me.

"I want the watch" I said. I removed the wristwatch and pocketed it. Chief Bogo then turned to Nick and Judy.

"Officers... You guys have been requesting a tough case? Here's your chance. You get to work with the detectives and solve this case."

"Yes!" Judy exclaimed jumping in the air.

"Consider this a challenge" Chief Bogo said with a smile.

"Challenge, sir?" Nick asked a little nervously.

"Why, this is your first murder case of course. All you've been solving were missing mammals, kidnapped children, drug dealings, counterfeit money, illegal weapon sales, robberies... And here we have a murder. Now's your chance to solve a case different from what you've been normally solving. Are you up for it?"

"Yes sir!" Judy and Nick said in unison. Chief Bogo turned to the officers.

"All right, let's tag and bag this body. I want 2-3 officers to escort Gazelle back to her hotel room. As for you four, we'll provide a room for you."

"Thank you, Chief" I said.

The hotel room that was given to us was on the same floor as Gazelle's but it was about five doors down. It had four beds, a small kitchen, and two bathrooms. It was actually two rooms combined into one. I was sitting under a lamp examining the watch. I was so focused, I didn't even know Carrots, Nick, and Judy were watching me.

"So what have you found?" Nick asked. I let out a startled cry and looked up at them.

"You really need a bell" I said. Nick shrugged as if he's ok with it. "And to answer your question, here's what I found." I placed the watch further under the lamp so the other three could see. "Clean face, no scratches or marks of any kind, the ticking mechanism is a little faint, but it's still audible. Now..." I turned the watch over. "Under the watch is clean of marks, the wristband is also neat, minus that red spot..." There was a small red spot on the wristband. Luckily, it's under the watch, so the wolf had to turn his hand over, palm facing upwards to see it. "Not only that..." I turned the watch to the side. "Scratches around the dial. So I ask, how can this watch be perfectly clean minus the red mark and the scratches around the dial?"

"The red mark is blood" Nick said. I sniffed the red mark and gave it a quick lick. I cringed and spat due to the taste of metal that came with the taste.

"No, not blood. It came from a drink" I said. I licked it again and shuddered from the taste of metal once more. "Alcoholic... Fruit punch... With a pinch of apple cider... Which is also alcoholic."

"He went to a bar!" Judy guessed.

"But there are many bars here around Zootopia" Carrots said.

"True... But we can narrow things down... Let's look at the scratches." I turned the watch to the side. "There are exactly 60 stores in all of Zootopia that sells wristwatches that doesn't require the customer to change the time once they purchase it, and there are 15 that do. Now..." I pointed to the scratches. "Look at the pattern. Some scratch marks are going upward, and some are going downward. My guess, is that this wolf was in a hurry and in a mad panic, adjusted the time while scratching the dial. So... If we look at the pattern once more, because of the scratch marks going upward, I shall infer that he passed the right time at least twice."

"But we don't know what time the watch started at" Judy said. I turned to Nick and nodded my head.

"But Jake and I knows someone who does." Carrots and Judy looked at both of us questioningly.

"There's only one watch store in Zootopia that's neighbors with a certain area that serves alcoholic fruit punch and alcoholic apple cider" I said. "Tick-Tock's Clockworks."

"Tick-Tock has a unique ability of memorizing the times of every watches and clocks he sells" Nick explained. "He also has a habit of studying his customers just in case someone tried to rob him."

"If we can find out the time this watch was set at before being purchased, and how our murdered wolf friend was acting in the store, we might have a lead. As for the drink, the only place in Zootopia where one would obtain such an alcoholic beverage is..." I sighed. "The Mystic Spring Oasis... And we have to visit that place!" I said, tossing the watch on the nightstand.

Nick had a smug smile. "But Jake, we're in this together. We all have to go the Oasis..."

"The last time I was in there, it wasn't pretty!"

"But all you had on were shorts, shoes and socks" he said teasingly.

"And then the nickname 'Gazelle's Human Backup Dancer' was born. If you want me in there, you're going to have to owe me something... BIG TIME!" I grabbed the watch and pocketed it again.

"That sounds fair" he said.

"You know... I'm starting to think you were the one that got me up there in the first place."

"Can you prove it?" Nick asked.

"I'll prove it later... Goodnight." I went to one of the two beds in the other room, collapsed on it, and fell asleep very quickly.


	8. Jake's Revenge

I was sprawled on the bed sleeping soundly until a medium sized sack was thrown on top of me. "What the-?! Night howlers! They're everywhere! We're all doomed!" I yelled, waking up from a nightmare. I noticed I was still wearing the latex gloves from the previous night. I gasped, ripped them off my hands and tossed them aside. "I won't be part of the Night howler experimentation!" I looked across the room and saw Carrots standing by the foot of the bed with a paw over her mouth. "Sorry you had to hear all that" I said.

Carrots was trying hard not to laugh. "I took the liberty of going to our home and gathered your supplies" she said. I opened the sack and pulled out a lock-picking kit, a slender carrot shaped pen, my wallet, and... New clothes?

"I see that you packed some fresh clothes for me" I said. Carrots laughed.

"I hate to see you solving this murder, wandering around Zootopia wearing an attire that you wore to a party and fell asleep with. Come on Jake, look professional." I looked inside the sack and then back up at her.

"Me dressing up like Nick is 'professional'? Carrots, am I missing something here?"

"Wanna get mad someone, get mad at Nick." Carrots knows I'm not really mad at her, but she does think it's cute when I get embarrassed even when she's the cause of my embarrassment.

"Oh I will" I said.

"Now get dressed. Judy and Nick are waiting for us in the lobby." She left the room and closed the door. I sighed and began to remove my shirt.

Carrots joined Judy and Nick in the lobby for breakfast. Carrots was wearing an officer uniform. More specifically, a larger version of the uniform Judy was wearing. She also wore black thick socks, and black boots. Nick also wore his police uniform, though he was a little annoyed that Judy didn't allow him to bring his sunglasses. "Now all we need to do is wait for Jake, right?" Carrots asked.

"Well according to his plan last night" Judy said. "We visit Tick-Tock's Clockworks first, question Mr. Tick-Tock, then go to the Mystic Spring Oasis, question someone there, and see where the next clue will take us."

"That sounds about right" I said from behind. Judy and Nick turned around. They saw that I was wearing Nick's casual attire minus the tie. I had on a pair of clean socks, and brown shoes. I was also wearing the wolf's watch.

"Looking good Jake" Judy said with a smile.

"Yeah, you actually look good in that attire" Carrots commented.

"Not the first time he wore my clothes" Nick laughed.

"Don't start" I said to Nick as I picked up a piece of bread. I took a bite out of it. "The train to Sahara Square leaves in 1 hour. If we hurry soon, we can beat the long lines and get our tickets."

Officer McHorn and Officer Francine approached us. "Before you go and begin solving this case..." The rhino said. "Gazelle wants you to know that she was really grateful for what you did last night."

"We barely guarded her" I said.

"Stopping a stalker was enough. So she put some thought into it and she wants you four to be her personal bodyguards during her concerts only... That is if you successfully solve this case of course."

"Tell her we're putting some thought into it" Nick said.

"Good luck out there guys" Officer Francine said.

"We will" I told her. The two officers left us in the lobby.

"Isn't this great?" Nick asked. "Cops and Detectives 24/7, personal bodyguards during concerts."

"Yeah, yeah, very great" I said, finishing the bread. "Come on. I want to beat the long lines. We have a case to solve!" I sprinted for the door, but tripped and tumbled on the carpet. "God damn it" I muttered.

"It's not a surprise to me that solving a case gets him excited" Carrots said with a smile. She got up and pushed her chair under the table. "But he's right... We have a murder to solve." She helped me up and we both exited the lobby.

"You know, this is the first time I ever saw Jake act like this. Normally he's all serious and stoic about cases" Nick said.

"Maybe you're not the only one dating a rabbit" Judy teased as she got up.

"Jake? Nah, that can't... Be... Could it?" Nick followed Judy out of the hotel. "Is my brother dating a rabbit too?" He asked quietly to himself.

While waiting in line to get the tickets, I was spacing out, lost in thought. 'If Ichabod Moran really is behind the murder... Why did he choose a wolf who was one of the 14 missing mammals as his target? Unless he's working for someone who wanted the wolf dead... I wager that the wolf won't be the only victim of his. I must find the murderer and stop him before panic spreads all over Zootopia.'

"Jake?" Carrots asked. I was still deep in thought about the case "Jake?" She asked again. I ignored her again. "Jake!" She yelled to get my attention. I jolted out of my trance and cried out in surprise. "Come on, we have our tickets."

"Oh... Right" I said. The four of us boarded the train to Sahara Square and took a seat somewhere in the middle row. The train won't depart for another 45 minutes so that's plenty of time for me to think about the case. "I'm going up to the top" I said as I stood up from my seat unaware that my phone slipped out of my pocket.

"Why?" Nick asked.

"Because I like watching the rain hit the glass roof when we reach Rainforest District. So, excuse me." I left the group and made my way to the top deck of the train to look out the large glass window, and occasionally, up at the large glass roof.

"Hey Nick?" Carrots asked.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Can you tell us more about Jake?" She asked. "I know you and Jake said a lot of the backstory is sad, but can you tell us at least one thing?" Nick sighed and leaned back against his seat.

"Yeah I'll tell it. But for the record... There's also a reason why Jake was a backup dancer for Gazelle."

"Can you tell us that first?" Judy asked with excitement, hoping it'll be funny. However, Nick was not excited.

"Ok. But I must warn you, it's not a happy story." Judy's ears dropped.

"Why?"

"The day I tricked Jake into being a backup dancer was um..." He cleared his throat. I returned to the seats.

"I knew I've forgotten something" I said, grabbing my phone.

"Hey Jake, do you remember how you became a backup dancer for Gazelle?" He asked.

"Yeah" I answered, not feeling embarrassed like I normally would. My mind was still focused on the murder so I wanted to make this quick so I can think more. "Apparently a lot of civilians of Zootopia thought it would be interesting to see a human backup dancer. You have no idea how big betting pools have gotten that I would be accepted. After all, normally substitute backup dancers were mostly predators and at rare times, prey. So they thought, let a human backup dancer be a one time thing. Give it a chance."

Judy cocked her head. "That wasn't sad at all" she said.

"Oh the sad thing about that? Guess who started the entire betting all over Zootopia." I pointed to Nick and headed back over to the top of the train.

"You know mom placed her bets for you, too!" He called.

"Yeah, I know!" I called back. "I still have her voicemail about that!" Carrots and Judy didn't know whether to laugh or feel bad.

"So that's one part of Jake's past you heard" Nick said. Judy and Carrots looked at each other.

"Hey Nick?" Judy asked, her ears dropping once more. "What was the sad thing about his past? Every time we would ask you, you guys always say it's sad and we want to know what."

"Ok. Remember when I told you about my past and wanting to join the Junior Ranger Scouts?" They both nodded their heads. "Well, you don't know the rest of it."

Flashback

I was sitting in the armchair of our living room almost finished with my first tough Sherlock Hound book out of the countless books. And by tough, I mean hard to read for the young ones. Because mom didn't know which school to put me in, she decided that I self educated myself for the time being by buying me Sherlock Hound books starting with the children's copies, and then work my way up to the thick 20 stories in one types of books. She was impressed about how fascinated I was with Sherlock Hound because normally children would find the books too boring or very hard to understand. But not me. She assumed that I wanted to be a detective when I grew up, but to be honest, I was actually interested to these detective novels. I didn't have my detective skills yet, but eventually I'll pick them up. I don't know how, but it'll happen... At some point... I mean, I hope I'll obtain them. I was 10, almost going to 11. I was older than Nick by a few months. To tell you the truth, when they found me scared and alone by their house, they didn't know what I was, how old I was, when my birthday was, everything. Me? All I knew was that I'm a human, I'm a boy, my name was Jake, and I'm 10. That was it. Nothing else.

So, after watching over me for several months, it was clear that my real family was never coming back so Mrs. Wilde and her son Nick decided to have me as part of their family and started to fill out adoption papers. Because neither of us knew when my birthday was, Mrs. Wilde said that I was born on the same year as Nick, and I was older than him by a few months. As it turned out, humans did exist in Zootopia, but that was before animals took over. And apparently, I may be the last human in existence, no knows if this is true or not. But for the time being, it's true.

I've read stories about humans being raised by bears, wolves, and even lions. There was one short, albeit boring, story about a human girl raised by jungle cats. But for a human to be raised by foxes? I think I'm the first and only human to be raised by such mammals. And I tell you, living with the Wilde family was interesting. Though I wish I knew about my 'dad' more.

Nick barged into the house excited out of his mind. Today at school, Nick's class was visited by the Junior Ranger Scouts. I know because he took me to his school. Now I've been to his school a few times. The majority of those times involved me trying to keep Nick out of trouble and to see if he's enjoying spending time with his friends. Now I didn't have a lot of friends, but I befriended a few friends through Nick. What's a little awkward about it was that no one knows whether I'm predator, or prey. Because that thought didn't cross my mind, I didn't think it was a big deal whether or not I was predator or prey. For all I know, I could be both.

The scouts consisted of all prey. A zebra, a hippo, a beaver, a moose, and a deer. Now I stayed in the back of the room away from everyone and even ignoring all the scouts were talking about for three reasons:

1\. I didn't care about them

2\. I felt uncomfortable being the only human in here

3\. I just didn't want to be noticed

Mom was in the kitchen cooking baked potatoes, blueberry muffins, and some vegetarian meat.

"It was so cool! The Junior Ranger Scouts visited us and they told us the types of stuff they did!"

Of course I was happy for him, but the fact that there are mammals who are extremely prejudice against foxes worried me to my core. They're treated as untrustworthy and believe that they all should have a muzzle. I swear, if one of those muzzles reaches my brother or even my mom, I'm not going to hesitate to do something about it!

"That's why I want to join the Junior Ranger Scouts!" Nick said proudly. I was so shocked, I almost tore a page as I turned it. Luckily I didn't. I placed a bookmark in my book, closed it, and put it aside. I got up and approached him, crouching down just a little (given that I was the same size as the zebra) so I'm leveled with him. Now I had to choose my words carefully so that I won't hurt his feelings and I had to hide my worries about him being bullied because he's a fox. It didn't take long, but I chose the right words and I forced a look on excitement so well, Nick didn't even know that I was worried deep down.

"That's very awesome, bro!" I said happily. "Imagine, my brother... The first predator to fit in with a pack. This could probably change everything! And predator and prey can truly get along." Now I wasn't exactly sure I chose the RIGHT words, but I had to keep my brother's spirits up. He's been dreaming about this for... I don't know, before I was even adopted probably. Throughout dinner, Nick was talking about how excited he was about participating in the activities he was going to do. He even said that during Take Your Sibling to Camp Day, he promised to take me along for supporting him.

Jump ahead about 5 days later. Nick signed up to join, I helped him memorize the oath, and mom had bought Nick his uniform. Tonight was his initiation. Before leaving, mom took a photo of us. I swear I didn't look good in the picture because I was smiling oddly. But mom assured me I had a great smile and I shouldn't worry. I begged to differ.

I walked Nick to the address where his initiation took place. I watched Nick enter the building to be initiated. In my head, I was proud, but my heart was filled with worry. While waiting for him, I pulled out a pocket sized Sherlock Hound book from my pocket and read under a street lamp.

After reading about 3 pages, I heard the doors open. By the time I turned around, whoever opened the doors was gone. "Must've been the wind" I said to myself. Just then, a muzzle hit me in the side of the head. "Ow! What the hell?!" I asked. I closed the book, pocketed it, and looked down. I gasped and picked up the muzzle. I turned my head and saw Nick huddled in a corner, crying. "Nick!" I yelled, running to him. "Nick what's wrong?" I asked. He looked up at me, his eyes were red from crying. He then whimpered because of the muzzle I had in my hand. "Oh they're going to pay!" I yelled. I helped Nick up. "Just stay in the lobby, and I'll take care of everything, ok?" I asked. Nick nodded his head.

When we entered the lobby, I grabbed a nearby slender carrot shaped pen. It was one of those pens that comes with a recording device. "Stay here" I whispered and kissed him on the head. "I'll be right back." Nick wrapped his arms around my waist.

"I don't want them to muzzle you" he whimpered.

"They won't" I assured him, hiding the muzzle behind my back. As Nick released me, I approached the steps and heard laughter. I slipped the pen into my pocket and began to record everything. I decided to reenact a scene from one of the Sherlock Hound books that the detective used on a bully. Staying in the dark and sound menacing while trying to get what he wants from the bully. In my case, trying to get here guys to apologize to Nick.

I reached the bottom of the stairs but remained hidden in the shadowed part of the room.

"Did you see the look on his face?" One of the scouts asked.

"Yeah... It was so pathetic! Thinking that we'll let him join us!"

"Good thing we have a small supply of those. Just in case more predators wants to join us,"

"That actually felt good" the beaver said. "Who would ever trust a fox?"

"Me" I answered, trying to sound menacing. The five stopped laughing and looked around.

"Who's there?" The zebra asked.

"The one who trusts a fox" I answered, still sounding as menacing as I could.

"Why would you trust a fox? They're untrustworthy!" The beaver yelled.

"Why? Because he's my brother" I said.

"There's another fox in here! Once he shows himself, we're going to muzzle him! It's just one fox and there's five of us!" The beaver laughed. The deer grabbed a muzzle.

"What makes you think I'm a fox? I could be a predator who got adopted by foxes. Or I could be a prey of a who lost his home and family and the foxes took me in. Have you ever considered that? Nope."

"I hear him! He's in the corner! Get him!" The beaver yelled. The zebra took the muzzle from the deer and ran to the dark corner.

"Come here, fox!" He yelled. "No, no, no! No! Please!" He begged as the other scouts heard struggling and clicking noises. The zebra ran out of the dark with the muzzle on him. He struggled to get it off. The other scouts rushed towards him and tried to help get it off.

"It's tight!" One of them yelled.

"Of course it's tight" I said, still staying in the shadows. "What? You don't think I'll trust a bully who can remove their muzzle easily? I think bullies deserve muzzles." I tossed the muzzle that Nick had on out of the dark and it landed by the beaver. "Go on... Put it on" I said. The beaver hesitated. "Doesn't feel good, does it? Watching someone you know, struggling to get the muzzle off while everyone is laughing?" I hit the play button on the pen and all the scouts heard themselves laughing.

"Did you see the look on his face?"

"Yeah... It was so pathetic! Thinking that we'll let him join us!"

"Good thing we have a small supply of those. Just in case more predators wants to join us," I turned the recording off.

"Whoever you are, or whatever you are... That was so mean!" The beaver yelled, his eyes almost filled with tears.

"Says the prey who decided to muzzle someone who really wanted to join the scouts. So I'll make you a deal. I'll erase all that you said if you apologize to my brother."

"And what if we don't apologize?" The deer asked as the other scouts continued their attempts to remove the muzzle off the zebra.

"You tell me. What do you think I'm going to do if you don't apologize?"

The zebra stood up. "I'll apologize. But can you take this muzzle off after I do?" I didn't care that he was about to cry.

"I'll let Nick be the judge of that" I said. "So... If you're going to apologize..." I had found their stash of muzzles and dumped them on the floor. "You have to wear those. So you'll know how Nick felt when you put it on him. So what's it going to be? Apologize with the muzzles on, or do I have to have you listen to your own taunts and laughs? Your call." I hit the replay button so all they heard were their own laughs, and taunts about what they did to Nick over and over again.

(Present)

"Jake was so grateful about being accepted by us, that he doesn't hold back if anything happened to me or mom" Nick explained as the train arrived at Rainforest District.

"That was so sweet of Jake, coming to your rescue like that" Carrots said.

"Yeah. You must be proud of your brother" Judy agreed. Nick nodded his head as he wiped a tear from his eye. Even Judy and Carrots didn't feel bad about the scouts.

"So what happened?" Judy asked.

"They apologized with muzzles on" Nick said with a laugh. "And as promised, I removed some of their muzzles, but not the beaver and Jake did not erase the recordings of their taunts."

"Why?" Judy asked.

"Because he didn't apologize" I answered as I made my way back to the group. "It took a lot more than humiliation to get him to apologize, but I don't want to talk about it" I said as I sat down next to Carrots. "After he apologized, well... I don't know what happened. But they sure never dared to cross our paths after that. And I still have the recordings of their laughs, taunts, apologies, and pitiful sobs."

"So that carrot pen was from when you saved Nick?" Carrots asked.

"The same one" I said. "I'm surprised it survived this long." Since it was going to be awhile before we reached Sahara Square, the four of us decided to take a nap. Because once we reach Sahara Square, we really got to focus on the case.

Somewhere in a dark part of Rainforest District

Ichabod Moran was leaning against the rail of a bridge. There were no cars, no lights, and only he and a bear were the only mammals around. "Are you sure he's in Sahara Square?" He asked. Lying down in front of him, badly beaten with cuts and scratches was a bear.

"Yes" he coughed, struggling to get up.

"No, no... Lie down..." Ichabod said, gently pushing him back down with his gloved paw. "Now I want the truth! Are you absolutely sure he's in Sahara Square?"

"Yes!" The bear groaned. "He's having a meeting with someone! I don't know who!"

"Do you know where in Sahara Square?"

"An abandoned warehouse! That place is so empty, no one even knows it's still there and no one even knows why it hasn't been destroyed!"

"I see" Ichabod said. He helped the bear to his feet. "You're a survivor aren't you?" He asked.

"What do you mean?!" The bear asked, horrified. Ichabod leaned close to his ear and whispered something. "No, don't bring that up! Don't bring that up!"

"Relax... You're not going to see it again." The bear sighed with relief. "But I will make sure that you won't... Revert." He began to tie a vine around the bear's neck like a noose.

"What do you mean-" Ichabod tossed him over the bridge and let him fall for awhile. He then quickly caught the vine, causing it to snap the bear's neck. Ichabod left the scene, leaving the bear's dangling body above several feet of tree branches, log bridges, and deep water.


	9. Tick-Tock's Clockworks

I stepped out of the train, stretching and groaning. "Alright, let's go visit Tick-Tock" I said. "The sooner we get to him, the quicker we'll solve this case."

The four of us walked through the desert-like streets of Sahara Square. "Ok, Tick-Tock's Clockworks is right here" Nick said, sprinting past the girls, and me. He stopped at a store that was shaped like a giant clock. The name of the store was called Tick-Tock's Clockworks. All the letter Os had faces of clocks. Sometimes, the sound of a clock ticking would happen but only for a few moments and then stop, and then it would start ticking again. Every hour, bubbles would shoot out for the children to play with. "Tick-Tock sells the best watches and clocks in all of Zootopia" he explained.

"Unfortunately you have to adjust them to the correct time after you purchase them" I added.

"And don't worry, Tick-Tock always helps out with that." Nick opened the door and entered the store. The sound of the bell ringing got Tick-Tock's attention.

Tick-Tock was a male badger. He wore a gray suit, black tie, and wore glasses made entirely out of gears and other parts of a small clock. Something that he made himself. "Nick Wilde" he greeted as he rose from his chair behind his desk. There were a few mammals in the store as well. Both customers and employees.

The store had three floors. The first floor sold watches, the second floor sold clocks, and the third floor has parts and tools to fix and/or replace broken watches and clocks. See, the third floor isn't meant for shopping. It's a workshop for customers to fix their watches and/or clocks and Tick-Tock and his employees are always here to help. The workshop has all the parts and tools needed to help you repair your damaged clock and/or watch.

The second Carrots, Judy, and I entered the store, Tick-Tock, immediately turned his head towards us. "Jake Wilde" he said.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Your watch is ready" he said.

"My watch?" I asked, a little confused. The badger reached into his inner suit jacket pocket and pulled out a white envelope.

"Your mother mailed this to me a few weeks ago" he said as he handed it to me. I tore the envelope open and pulled out the letter. Nick, Judy, and Carrots gathered around me. I held the letter in a way to make sure Judy can read it as well.

'My dear Jake,

It brings me great joy to know that you're a successful detective and your partner, Carrots, seems to enjoy working with you. You may not know it, but she mails me the types of cases you both solve together. She even tells me that she looks after you. Something that she enjoys. But in all seriousness Jake, I really think you need a watch. Time can be both your enemy, and your friend. Which is why I took the liberty of requesting Tick-Tock to make you a watch. Don't worry dear, I already paid for it.

Love mom...

P.S. Please remind Nick to wash behind his ears when he showers.'

"Oh good God... Come on, mom" Nick groaned, as he walked to the side. Tick-Tock reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold pocket watch.

"Waterproof, and fireproof. Also, it's extremely difficult to break."

On the cover of the watch, was my full name engraved in cursive writing. Jake P. Wilde. I turned the watch over. On the back was an engraved message also written in cursive.

'Time can be both a friend, and a foe, Jake

Mom'

I opened the watch and saw that the face was the image of the entire city of Zootopia. I closed the watch and pocketed it in my pants pocket while clipping the end of the chain tightly against the loop where the belt goes. "Thank you Tick-Tock" I said, the badger just nodded his head.

Judy stepped forward and pulled out a notepad and her carrot pen. "Mr. Tick-Tock?" She asked. "We came here to see if you can help us with something."

"Of course, Officer Hopps. Anything" he said.

Carrots stepped forward next and removed the watch from my wrist. "The wolf that purchased this watch was murdered and we believe he bought it here." Tick-Tock took the watch and examined it.

"Oh dear..." He said.

"What is it?" Nick asked as Judy prepared to write down notes.

"The wolf was murdered you say?"

"Yes sir" Carrots answered.

"The wolf was a regular here. He would spend 2 hours looking at this particular watch every day." Judy began to write down notes. "The odd thing was the way he was looking at it. It's almost like he was deciding whether to buy it or not." He examined the scratches and the stain. "Ahh... There's no mistaking it. The stain came from a drink that can only be found at the Mystic Spring Oasis." Judy jotted something down on her notepad.

"And the scratches?" Carrots asked. "He was in a hurry, right?"

"Oh he was in a hurry to change the time, all right, but I didn't see the reason why."

"What do you mean?" Judy asked. The badger lead us to the cash register.

"He was such in a rush, he forgot his receipt. And ran straight for the Mystic Spring Oasis." He hit a few buttons and a receipt popped out. He tore it and handed it to me. I looked at it and read the information.

"It says here that he purchased the watch yesterday at around 2:00 pm for a total of 65 zoo bucks" I said.

"That was the night of Gazelle's concert" Carrots said. "But why was he in a hurry?"

"You wanna know the really strange part?" Tick-Tock asked. "The day he bought this watch, he was extremely calm and relaxed, just like my customers. But when I told him the real time, he quickly bought the watch and frantically adjusted the time to 2:00 and then left the store. It was strange because he didn't act this way during his earlier visits."

"Hey Jake?" Nick asked.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Have you noticed that all the clocks and watches read 12:00?" He asked.

"No I didn't" I said. "That would explain the upward scratches." 'He was in such a hurry, he passed the right time twice' I thought to myself.

"Yeah" the badger sighed. "I have someone who was supposed to adjust these clocks and watches to the real time, but..."

I reached into my pocket, and pulled out my watch. I opened it and saw that it was the real time so I didn't need to adjust it. I closed my watch and slipped it back into my pocket.

"Who was supposed to turn these watches and clocks to the real time? And where is he?" Judy asked as she turned the page of her notebook.

"Actually it's a 'she', and her name is Lupe" Tick-Tock corrected. "She hasn't been herself ever since the night howler incident. She would spend about an hour at the Mystic Springs Oasis and she always goes there at 2:05 pm on the dot every Friday." He placed the watch in a small box and put it inside a drawer. "I'm sorry, the wolf was a dear friend of mine so I hope it's ok with you guys that I keep it."

"Of course" Nick said. I was pacing by the door.

"That's why he was in a rush to adjust the time" I said to myself. "I think he was in a hurry to reach the Mystic Spring Oasis. But does he go there after every visit he makes to this store? Why that particular Friday that caused him to become frantic if he was normally calm and relaxed during his previous visits?" Judy approached me.

"Do you think it'll have something to do with Lupe?" Judy asked as she put her pen and notepad away.

"That's what we're going to figure out now" I answered. "Thank you very much for your time, Tick-Tock."

"The pleasure is all mine, detectives and officers" the badger said with a bow, his glasses sliding down to his nose. As we all left the store, Tick-Tock adjusted his glasses back on his face and returned to helping his customers and employees.

The walk to the Mystic Spring Oasis wasn't a long one, but as we got closer to it, I was starting to feel nervous. It's not the club itself that's making me nervous. It's what happened the last time I was here. Carrots noticed me shaking a little. "Is something wrong Jake?" She asked with concern.

"The last time I was here, I had to drag a drunk, naked, individual out of there, I had to drive him back home and became his 'doctor' for the next several hours."

"Who was it?" Judy asked.

"The one standing behind me" I said.

"I wish you haven't brought that up" Nick said.

"So? I don't care... You were going to bring it up, anyway."

"Damn, you read my mind."

"Please, you're easy to read" I opened the door and went inside.

Somewhere in Sahara Square, a tiger wearing a business suit entered an abandoned warehouse. He looked at his watch and placed a briefcase on a really dusty table. The place was so abandoned, dust, dirt, and cobwebs filled every corner, window, floor, and even the walls. "I never really liked this place" a voice said. The tiger turned around and saw Ichabod Moran leaning against the wall. "This place looks like an area where a psychotic villain executes hostages." Ichabod approached the tiger. "Tell me, what does this place remind you of?"

"A perfect place for a business meeting" the tiger said. "Now can you please leave? I'm expecting some clients and an extremely important deal is about to happen." Ichabod nonchalantly approached the briefcase.

"I'll be the judge of that" he said. He opened the briefcase.

"Hey! You can't-!" The tiger yelled.

"Shh!" Ichabod whispered, while pulling out a handgun and aiming it at him. He cocked the gun, while still pointing the gun at his head. The tiger raised his hands up steadily.

"Ok, take it easy" he said.

"Just relax..." Ichabod said as he pulled out papers out of the briefcase. They were diagrams and drawings of a plant as well as scientific formulas and equations.

"I know they're difficult to understand" the tiger said. "But if you want, I can..."

"Oh no, I can read them just fine" Ichabod said. With his free hand, he folded the papers and stuffed them into his inner jacket pocket.

"Can you at least tell me your name and remove your hat and lower your collar?" The tiger asked. "I want to know who I'm talking to."

"I'm surprised that your suspicious about my name and how I look instead of being concerned about why I want the these papers..." Ichabod said calmly. "It's a night howler, isn't it?" He asked.

"Exactly sir, but how did...?"

"I'm a citizen of Zootopia. Clearly I should know everything. The citizens, the places, the buildings, even the plants and flowers." He rolled up the tiger's sleeve and saw a scar at the back of his paw. "You're a survivor, aren't you?"

"Survivor? What do you mean?"

"There are rumors about night howlers that depending on how long someone's been infected by it, once they're cured, there's a 10% chance that they'll revert to their savage state at a random moment. Of course I don't believe such a rumor because the antidote is extremely strong. But let me ask you something. Ever since you've been cured, were you frightened of reverting? Are you cautious wherever you stepped because you might come across another night howler? Is surviving the whole night howler thing something you're proud of and want to share with the world?" The tiger didn't know how to answer that. "I'll take your silence as a yes." He aimed the gun at his chest and shot him.

The tiger cried out and fell to the ground, groaning. "It's nothing personal" Ichabod said as he shot him again. "I'm just being cautious." He open fired a few more times. He pocketed the gun, closed the briefcase, and picked it up. "Be proud. I just did you a favor by ending your misery. Now you don't have to worry about those night howlers ever again." He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a list of those who were infected by the night howlers. "Ahh... Lupe, a snow leopard. And she's also in Sahara Square... Interesting." He pocketed the list and left the abandoned warehouse, leaving the body of the tiger lying in the middle of the area.


	10. The Mystic Spring Oasis

Yax was meditating behind the front desk, moaning loudly. I entered the lobby and sighed. "Mr. Yax?" I asked as I approached the desk. Carrots, Judy, and Nick also entered the lobby. Yax was still meditating and moaning loudly. "Mr. Yax?" I asked a little louder. He still kept moaning. "Mr. Yax!" I yelled, getting his attention. Mr. Yax stopped moaning and meditating. He leaned over the desk and pushed back his messy mane so he could see.

"Oh hey there dude" he said. "You came back!"

"Indeed I have" I said.

"I would like to thank you by the way for helping me win big cash money."

"It's... Um.. No problem" I answered nervously. The thing was this... When Nick started the betting pool in Zootopia that I would be accepted as a once in a lifetime backup dancer for Gazelle, he started the betting pool in this area. Embarrassing for me, the greatest day ever for them.

"So what can I do for you dudes?" Yax asked.

"We came here to talk to Lupe" Nick said.

"Lupe? Oh sure! Yeah she's here. I'll be happy to take you out back... But there's one thing."

"What is it?" I asked nervously.

"Things have changed some time after the fox and rabbit arrived here about the otter."

"What do you mean?" Judy asked.

"Since this is a naturalist club... If you want to go in for any reason, you must get rid of your clothes."

"Ok" I said, not having it. "All of these" I said, gesturing to my waist down. "Are staying on. Unless of course we can work something out."

"Oh sure dude... We can work something out."

"Thank you" I said.

Inside the men's locker room, Nick was laughing hysterically as he put all of his clothes into the locker.

"Yeah, yeah... Laugh it up" I said as I stuffed all of my clothes in the locker. All I wore were Hawaiian boxers that matched the Hawaiian shirt.

"Oh man, I completely forgot you wear those."

"You gave me a really large box of these for Christmas 5 years ago" I said as I stepped out of the locker room with Nick. "And another large set of your casual clothing for my birthday." Nick put his paws over his mouth to stifle his giggles.

Waiting for us were Judy and Carrots. Because everyone in Zootopia were anthropomorphic, all of their fur were covering their privates. As for me, wearing boxers was the only thing protecting the area under my waist. Even Judy and Carrots were trying not to laugh at my boxers. At this point, I didn't care anymore. We all walked to the back door and waited as Yax began unlocking it.

"Lupe should be out there somewhere" he said as he pushed open the doors. I was hit with the familiar sight of naked animals lounging, bathing, and playing sports.

"How do we know what Lupe looks like?" Judy asked as we all entered the Oasis. "I see more than one snow leopard." Yax closed the door behind us and went over to a small group of animals doing yoga.

"Lupe is a girl" I answered. "And according to Tick-Tock, she was one of the victims of the night howlers so find a scar from a puncture wound at the back of her paw."

"Why a scar?" Judy asked.

"There's only one syringe in Zootopia that leaves scars" I explained. "And that was used to inject the cure into them."

"But why that particular syringe, and not a regular one?" Judy asked.

"You're asking the wrong guy" I said. "You'll have to ask the doctors and nurses about that." The four of us walked through the Oasis, still searching for Lupe. Just then, a volleyball hit me in the head, knocking me into a pool. I popped out of the water and quickly climbed out of it. "I'm all right, I'm all right" I said, tossing the volleyball back to the hippos. Carrots tried not to laugh.

Nick cupped his paws around his mouth. "Lupe!" He called. "Hey Lupe! Where are you?!" I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"Yes?" A female voice asked. We all turned our heads and saw a female snow leopard sitting on a rock by a fountain. Nick cleared his throat.

"I'm Officer Nick Wilde. And this is Officer Judy Hopps, that's Detective Carrots, and that's Detective Jake Wilde, my adoptive brother."

"Yeah, I know. I recognized all of you. What's this about?"

"Is it ok if we talk to you somewhere private? It's kind of serious" Nick said.

Lupe lead us to a bar. We were the only ones there. Lupe went behind the counter. "You guys want the special drink?" She asked, pouring some alcoholic fruit punch in a glass. I watched as she poured a little alcoholic apple cider inside the glass as well.

"I do" I said. Lupe slid the glass over to me and began pouring herself a glass of the special drink. I picked up the glass and made my way over to one of the booths on the side.

"Jake, watch out, there's a small step" Carrots tried to warn me. Too late. I tripped over the step and lost my balance, causing me to slip a little and spill the drink all over my hand.

"Well..." I said, licking the splash of the drink off my hand, wrist, and fingers. "Now we know how the drink stained the wolf's watch." Lupe quickly glanced up.

"Torres?" She asked. "What about Torres? Is he all right?"

I looked at Nick, Judy, and Carrots nervously and they all looked back at me with the same expression. "Torres is dead" I sadly told her. Lupe put her paws over her mouth and sat down, crying. Nick tilted his head to the side and saw a scar from a puncture wound at the back of her paw.

"I knew Torres" Lupe said between sobs. "I was there the night he went savage. I tried to help him, but I too got infected. We got to know one another some time after we got cured. After that, we began dating."

"Yesterday, we were told that he arrived here in a frantic state" Carrots said.

"Yeah, he wanted to see you. Can you tell us anything?" Judy asked. Lupe remained silent for a moment.

"Yeah... He did look frantic when he came here" she said.

"Do you know why?" Nick asked.

"He promised to buy us tickets to Gazelle's concert. But because of the amount of tickets running out as well as tickets mailed to honored guests and a number of fans by Gazelle herself, he was in a hurry to buy two. He wanted that night to be perfect for us."

"And then what happened?" Judy asked.

"Only one was left" she answered. "I insisted that he bought the ticket since he was a Gazelle fan but he refused, wanting it to be the perfect night for us both. I still insisted that he buys the ticket. I told him that every date night he took me on was always a perfect night for me. He bought the ticket and was heartbroken. I felt really bad."

"And even if you didn't go, you still loved him?" Judy asked.

"Of course. Actually, he knows you..." She pointed to me. I nodded with agreement.

"Yeah, I know Torres." To tell you the truth, it didn't really hit me until now. "I helped him locate a rare missing item. That was the same day I met her" I said, gesturing to Carrots.

"Yep. And it is a long story."

"Very long, I'm afraid." Just then, my phone rang. I pulled out my phone and answered it on speaker. "Hello?" I asked.

"Detective Jake Wilde. This is Clawhauser."

"Hey!" I greeted.

"Are Judy, Nick, and Carrots with you?" He sounded serious.

"Yeah why?" I asked.

"We found two bodies. A bear hanging by his neck in Rainforest District, and a tiger gunned down in Sahara Square. We're all back at the morgue now. Where are you?"

"Mystic Spring Oasis, talking to Lupe." Clawhauser gasped.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Jake, does Lupe have a scar at the back of her paw?"

"Yeah" I answered. "Why?"

"Jake, I don't know if you figured it out by now, but I think someone is hunting down the 14 mammals that were infected by the night howlers!" Clawhauser said rather quickly.

"I had that hunch, but I wasn't so sure if it was true or not" I said.

"Apparently your hunch is correct. We don't know why the killer is doing this but the other victims of the night howlers must be warned!"

"How many did you say are at the morgue?" I asked.

"Just the wolf, the bear, and the tiger" Clawhauser said.

"Lupe is four... And... Oh my God."

"What is it?" Clawhauser asked.

"There aren't 14 mammals that got infected. There were 15."

"15?" Clawhauser asked, confused. "But our records said there were 14."

"Let me clue you in on something. Jaguar. Rainforest District. Chauffeur."

"Mr. Manchas?!"

"Yes" I said. I heard the chief take the phone from Clawhauser.

"Listen to me Wilde!" He said urgently. "Where's Lupe now?"

"She's with us" I said.

"Ok. Listen to me. And are the others with you?"

"Yes we are, Chief" Judy said.

"Ok. This is Priority Number 1. Make sure Lupe is safe. She may or may not be the next target. I'm sending squads to warn the other mammals who were victims of the night howlers."

"What about Mr. Manchas?" Carrots asked.

"Don't worry about Mr. Manchas. Your priority is get Lupe home now! Have her lock the doors and turn off all of her lights! Now!"

"Yes chief!" Nick, Judy, Carrots, and I shouted in unison. I hung up my phone the same time Chief Bogo hung up.

"Great! We don't know how close or how far the killer is!" Nick yelled.

"Well we better hurry and take Lupe home!" I yelled as I ran out of the bar as fast as I could.

By the time I dried myself with a free towel and put on my clothes, I was almost out of breath to the point where I didn't think I could run anymore. That was probably the fastest I've ever put on clothes. After waiting for about 15 minutes, the others exited from their respective locker rooms, wearing their clothes.

"My apartment isn't far from here" Lupe said as we all approached the doors.

"So, what's the plan?" Nick asked.

"One thing at a time, Nick" I said. "Let's take Lupe home first, and then we'll discuss our next plan." The second we opened the doors, Ichabod stood there, waiting. "You!" I yelled.

"I know" he said with a shrug. He tilted his head and saw the scar on Lupe's paw. He pulled out a pistol, cocked it, and shot her in the head.

"No!" Nick screamed as Lupe crumpled to the ground.

"Try and catch me, Jake!" Ichabod laughed as he ran down the street, still wielding his gun.

"You son of a bitch!" I yelled as I ran after him. Nick, Judy, and Carrots stayed by Lupe's side while Judy began radioing for help.


	11. A Different Kind of Hustle

I was chasing Ichabod through the alleyways of Sahara Square. What better way for him to stay hidden by having me chase him through dark alleyways, shady corners, and buildings. Not once did we ever run under the sunlight. The chase eventually led me to a very dim parking garage. I was so focused on chasing him, I didn't even know where I was for a moment nor did I know how the chase ended here. "Show yourself, Ichabod!" I yelled, my voice echoing a little. I walked through the maze of parked cars, trucks, and occasionally, empty parking spots. As I continued to search for him, I heard a thud and a clink. I turned around and saw a tactical knife lying on the ground. I bent down to pick it up, but a gloved paw clamped down on my shoulder.

"That's mine" Ichabod whispered. He spun me around and punched me in the face. As I staggered to the side, he picked up the knife and held it with the blade facing down. He lunged at me. I evaded his attack and tried to disarm him. However, he would attempt to find ways to get around me and try to stab me, which then I would have to evade him and push his arm as far away from me as I could. Ichabod swept me to the floor. He put one foot on me. I punched him in the patella so hard, it sounded like I've broken it.

Ichabod cried out in pain as I pushed him off me. I picked up the knife and tried to stab him. Thinking quick, he pulled out another tactical knife from his inner jacket pocket and threw it at me. I cried out in pain as the knife buried itself into my shoulder. Ichabod stood up and cracked his kneecap into place. The sound was so sickening, it made me cringe.

"This isn't over Jake!" He shouted. "You may have damaged me, but don't think you're out of the woods yet!" He ran towards a car and jumped on the roof. He then jumped up on a railing and hauled himself to the next level up of the garage. I watched him run before he disappeared into another maze of parked cars. I grasped the tactical knife and pulled it out of my shoulder. I then pressed my left hand against the wound to apply pressure on it.

I felt my phone vibrate. Using my right hand, I steadily pulled out my phone from my pocket and answered it on speaker. "Hello?" I asked a little weakly.

"Jake! My God are you ok?!" I heard Carrots ask.

"No. The killer got away and I got wounded."

"You're wounded?! Where are you?!" I looked around and then saw where I am because of the sign near one of the doors.

"Parking garage of Sahara Mall..." I looked around for other useful information that'll help Carrots locate where I am. "2nd floor, next to the dumpster against the wall. Look for a white van with a sticker of Gazelle on the back."

"Got it! Don't move Jake, we're on our way!" She yelled.

"Appreciate it" I answered. As we both hung up, I put my phone away and leaned against the wall in a sitting position.

I only had to wait 5 minutes before help arrived. A badger medic was treating my shoulder. The wound wasn't deep, thankfully. But it still needed to be treated. I saw Chief Bogo approach me and he did not look happy at all. The badger stepped aside and the chief towered over me.

"Are you ok?" He asked. I can tell he was mad about today's events.

"Yes sir" I said as I struggled to get up.

"Sit" he said sternly.

"Look, if you want my badge then I'll..."

"Why would I want your badge, detective?" He asked.

"I disobeyed an order, Chief..." I said. "You gave me a task to keep her safe... That was my first priority, and now she's dead."

"Now listen here, Wilde" Chief Bogo said, crouching down, levellling with me. "It wasn't your fault. You were ambushed. And thanks to your team, we were told that we're dealing with an assassin who is fast, stealthy, cunning, and most of all, deadly."

"But still... If I hadn't been more careful... Then she would still be alive."

"Jake... I'm not upset that a targeted victim was killed. I'm upset because I almost lost a squad mate. Can you imagine what Carrots would've done if I fired you? Or if you died today? She would've resigned. The two of you make a great team and recruiting you both to the ZPD, was the proudest moment in my life."

"The only time you cared?" I asked.

"In a way" he said. "But yeah. The only time I cared. Oh yeah, since we don't know when or where this Ichabod Moran will strike, I decided to cut you and your team a break."

"Wait what? How did you know about him? And what do you mean, 'break'? You're taking over?"

"One question at a time, Jake" he said calmly. "I know about him because Carrots told me every last detail about him. And based on the description she gave me, I figured that it'll take more than two of Zootopia's detectives and two of Zootopia's best officers to track him down."

"That's good news" I said.

"Your second question. You're only taking one day off with your team. Not one day more. After your day off, you get back on the case with us."

"Got it" I said.

"And third? Yeah I'm taking over... While you're on your day off with your team."

"And what am I supposed to do on that day off? I'll probably be bored out of my mind!"

"Someone give this kid a shock blanket" Chief Bogo said with a laugh.

"I don't need a shock blanket!" I argued as I steadily got up. "Ok maybe I do, but one day off work?! My mind needs riddles! Deciphering codes! Picking locks! At least a children's crossword puzzle!" Carrots approached me and placed a shock blanket around my shoulders, careful not to touch my bandaged wound. I took deep breaths for awhile. "Thanks" I said calmly. I needed that."

"Jake, even though I've seen wounds far worse than what you have, I want you to know that I still care for you."

"I know" I said.

"Before we were both recruited to join the ZPD, I promised your mother that I would look out for you."

"Wait why? She's my mother. It was my responsibility to tell her these things." Carrots laughed a little.

"I may have told her that I was your girlfriend. And that was after we both graduated that Detective Academy. You've been reading a lot of Sherlock Hound novels when you were young, right?"

"Yeah" I said. "That's why I passed all those tests. And admit it. My tutoring helped, didn't it?"

"Actually..." She grasped my shirt and pulled me a little close to her. "I didn't need tutoring. I read all of those novels too." I widened my eyes.

"So you acting like you needed help? The fake crying? Your contemplation about leaving the class?!"

"Was just a ruse to get me near you... And it worked! We became very good friends, we graduated together, and we went on two dates. Plus, you were unaware that I had a crush on you ever since I saw you for the first time."

"I've fallen for your trap" I said, defeated.

"It wasn't a trap... It was a hustle, sweetheart. A different kind of hustle." She then kissed me on the lips. She backed away with a smile. "Come on" she said. "Judy told me to get you. She seemed excited about something. And no, it's not about your injury."

Ichabod was sitting in a room in his apartment studying all the papers he stole from the tiger. "So... That tiger tried to make a cure of his own" Ichabod said to himself. "He wanted to make his own antidote." He grabbed all the papers with the math equations and scientific formulas, walked over to the fireplace and tossed them into the fire. He returned to his desk and studied the diagrams of the night howlers once more. "I know what to do" he said. "But first, I need a night howler... And I just know where to get one." He walked over to the map of Zootopia, grabbed a tactical knife and stabbed a spot. "Here... BunnyBurrow. Someone definitely grows them in the field. Taking a night howler without him noticing? Ha! Child's play."


	12. Not One More

At the ZPD, I was staring at the letter Judy gave me when we were in the parking garage. My arm was a little sore, but I still had to wear that bandage. "What's the BunnyBurrow Fair?" Nick asked. He too received the letter. Since Chief Bogo gave us one day off because of what happened, Judy decided we use that day off to take us to the BunnyBurrow Fair.

"BunnyBurrow Fair is a carnival!" Judy said excitedly. "There will be food, games, mini shops, singing, dancing, and even contests!"

"Sounds fun!" Nick said with a smile on his face. "You guys should hear Jake sing."

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen" I said as I folded the letter and pocketed it. My phone vibrated. I reached into my pocket, pulled out my phone and answered it. "Hello?" I asked as I pressed the phone against my ear. "Yeah? Sure. Ok." I hung up and pocketed my phone. "That was the lab. The lead doctor there wants to see us."

I opened the doors to the lab and approached the lead doctor who was a tiger. "Ah Jake, you arrived with your team."

"What's this about?" Carrots asked.

"Shortly after the curing of the victims of the night howlers, Jake and I had kind of a private conversation" the tiger said. "He wanted to know what would happen if he... A human ever comes in contact with a night howler. So we ran tests with the blood he offered. And trust me, running tests using his blood is more difficult than using the tests of mammals."

"And what have you found out?" Judy asked. The tiger sighed.

"Jake... If you were to come in contact with a night howler..." He hesitated for a moment. "You will die. Now hold on!" He said before we can even react. "Everyone here, myself included has done researches, conducted experiments, and even created formulas and we came up with a solution. May I remind you, that this also took a long time."

"Great! Let's hear it!" I said. The tiger walked over to a small safe on a table, dialed the combination, and opened it. He then pulled out what looked like a syringe but without a needle. He then pressed a button on the side and a needle popped out like the blade of a switchblade. The needle was the same one used to cure the mammals except it was an inch longer.

"At the back of my hand, right?" I asked.

"That was the idea..." The tiger said, pressing the button again, retracting the needle. "But because of a miscalculation on the formula, you have to inject the antidote into your heart instead of injecting it into the back of your hand like the other victims." Nick, Judy, and Carrots looked at me worriedly. This meant that after I cure myself, I'll have a scar from the needle.

"Unless it cures me, then I don't have anything to worry about, right?"

"Wrong" the tiger said, putting the syringe on the table. "Once you come in contact with a night howler, inhale, touch, or even ingest, you have 30 seconds before you start to lose oxygen. And if you haven't injected yourself by that time, it'll be difficult for you. So you'll need someone to help inject the antidote into your heart. You'll lose oxygen for another 30 seconds, then unconscious for 1 minute, and dead in 2."

"But the BunnyBurrow Fair..." Carrots said.

"Yeah!" Judy exclaimed with realization. "My dad grows night howlers to keep bugs away from his crops."

"Then I suggest you take the syringe" he said, picking it up and putting it inside a small black case. "The serum is already inside the syringe" he explained as he handed me the case. I strapped the case tightly around my left pant leg. "Now be careful, that's currently the only cure we have. So if you wind up being exposed to a night howler and you used that cure, well..."

"So there's no protection against these things?" I asked.

"I'm afraid not. Even if you're cured, the serum still doesn't prevent you from exposure to another night howler."

"Thanks for the info, doc. Even the cure" I said, shaking his paw. "If I have any more questions, I know where to find you... And how to reach you."

"Yep" he said as he patted my shoulder. Judy, Nick, Carrots, and I left the lab and headed for the exit.

I pulled out my watch, opened it, and looked at the time. "Come on. The train to BunnyBurrow leaves in 5 hours and we still have to pack, and buy tickets." I closed the watch and pocketed it.

"How do you know all this stuff?" Nick asked.

"I study the train schedules while waiting to get my tickets and while waiting for the train to arrive."

Although we got our tickets, the train got so packed, Carrots and I had to sit on one section, while Nick and Judy sat in another section. I packed more of my casual clothing which is the same as Nick's but a larger size. Nick packed his casual wear, and so did Judy. Carrots, just packed her uniform and claims that it is her casual attire.

The train hasn't left yet, but even if it did, it would still be quite a ride to BunnyBurrow. Judy was playing a game on her phone while listening to 'Try Everything'. Nick turned his head and watched the bunny win big scores on her game with her earphones plugged into her head. She was bobbing her head rhythmically while also tapping her foot on the floor. Nick looked like he wanted to tell her something but he was too nervous.

"Hey uh... Judy?" He asked. Ever since I introduced them to Carrots, Nick decided to start calling her 'Judy' and not the nickname 'Carrots' he usually called her.

"Yeah?" She asked, pausing her game, and the song.

"I'm a little nervous about meeting your parents" he said. "What if they don't accept that we've been dating?"

"Nick" she said softly, as she took his paw into hers. "Trust me, everything will be alright. Ok?"

"But..." He tried to say.

"If you're really that uncomfortable, speak when spoken to and let me do all the talking."

"But what if they ask me about my past? I can't lie..." His eyes lit up. "Jake!" He said with a sly smile. Judy's ears dropped.

"No, don't bring your brother into this" Judy said pleadingly.

"Yeah you're right..." Nick said. Judy continued playing her game and also the song.

"Jake, I'm nervous" Carrots said.

"About what?" I asked.

"I've been living in Zootopia for so long, I forgot what it was like living in BunnyBurrow. I'm as tall as you, for crying out loud. How will they react to my height? Bunnies don't grow this big!"

"Hey it's ok" I whispered. "I'm more nervous about how your family will react when they find out we've been dating."

"Oh they already know" she said.

"I'm sorry?" I asked.

"Look, after our first date, I was so thrilled, I told them about it and even sent those selfie pictures of us." I buried my head in my hands. "Jake, it's ok" she said, rubbing my back with her paw. "They know you're a human. All that matters to them is that I'm happy with you."

"I'm worried about the 11th picture when we were on the Ferris wheel" I said.

"So I put your hand over my mouth because my laughs were scaring the kids behind us, big deal."

"It looked like I was kidnapping you" I said, feeling ashamed. Carrots pulled out her phone and went to her photo album. She then went to the picture I was talking about.

"Look, nothing to be ashamed of." The picture was indeed of Carrots with my hand over her mouth. She used one paw to hold her phone for a selfie while she used her other paw to hold me close to her. I was trying my best to look away from the camera, but she managed to snap a photo of half of my face. The funny thing about it was that it didn't look like I was kidnapping her at all. Not even close. Carrots turned her phone off and pocketed it. Just then the train began to move.

On the other part of the train, Judy had turned off her phone to save her battery. "Hey Nick? Are you still nervous about meeting my family?"

"Still" he answered. "I fear that if they find out what I really am..." Judy placed her paw on top of his and held it tightly.

"Don't worry" she said. "I won't leave your side."

"Thank you" he said.

"You're welcome" she replied.

I was staring out the window lost in thought. Carrots studied the look on my face through my reflection on the window.

"It's about the case, isn't it?" She asked. I nodded.

"Jake?" She asked. I ignored her. "Jake?" She asked again. I still ignored her. "Jake..." She said once more, placing a paw on my shoulder. "Look at me, honey." She calls me 'honey' whenever she comforts me and is serious about what she has to say. I turned my head and stared at her. "Listen, Chief Bogo said he and the entire department got the case covered while we're on leave. If a body shows up, they'll know about it. If Ichabod shows up, they'll make a report about it."

"I'm worried about the next target" I said shakily. "I could've prevented Lupe's death. I could've pushed her out of the way... Instead I let Ichabod get away with another murder. Who's to say I might make that fucking mistake again?" She could tell I was fighting back tears and sobs. "I don't want another victim to be killed by the killer. Not one more..."

"Come here" she whispered. I leaned my body against her and pressed my face against her chest. She wrapped her arms around my and rubbed my back with her paws. "Just let it out Jake... I won't judge you.." She heard my muffled sobs. "Let it all out" she said, still rubbing my back.

"I want to kill this guy and keep the cured victims safe" I said between sobs.

"I know" she whispered. "We've been after this guy for a long time. I'll be happy to take him down with you." I continued crying into her chest, still blaming myself. Carrots is crying, but she doesn't show it. She always cries on the inside and not once did she cry on the outside.

Because of the many stops, by the time we arrived at BunnyBurrow, it was dark. We all grabbed our bags and stepped out of the train. "Come on" Judy said. "We're meeting everyone at the house."

"Do you think Carrots and I will fit?" I asked a little worriedly.

"Of course you'll fit" Judy said with a laugh. "This is BunnyBurrow, not Little Rodentia." As the four of us approached the entrance of BunnyBurrow, the train departed. Unaware to any of us, Ichabod stood at the other end of the platform watching us.

"No deaths tonight" he said quietly to himself. "I'm just here for a night howler..."


	13. Meeting Stu and Bonnie Hopps

Out of the four of us, only Judy was happy to be here. Nick was still nervous about how the family will react about him and Judy dating, Carrots is still nervous about the reactions she'll receive because of her height, and I'm disturbed that just like Nick (It's my first time here as well), I don't know how they'll treat me because I'm a human. "Come on guys" Judy said. "Smile! Everyone is waiting inside." She opened the door and stepped inside.

"Surprise!" Her mom and dad shouted in unison. "Welcome home, Judy!"

Judy let out a squeal of both surprise and happiness. She dropped her bag and ran over to her parents, giving them a tight hug. "I have so much to tell you about what happened in Zootopia after I solved the case!" Judy said excitedly.

Outside, the three of us heard her say this. "And this is where I leave" Nick said, turning around.

"Oh no, you get back here" I said, pulling him back by his bag.

"Jake, this is a bad idea" Nick complained. I sighed and looked at Carrots.

"Shall we go in?" I asked nervously. Carrots smiled and took my hand in her paw.

"Since I'm more familiar with this place than you, I think it would be best that I go in first" she said.

"True" I said. I then grabbed Nick's paw. "You're coming in too" I told him.

Inside, Bonnie Hopps had just finished setting up the dinner table. "I though you said you would bring some friends over, dear" she said.

"Oh..." Judy said as she sat down. "I mean, they should be here any minute now." Carrots stepped into the house first.

"Detective Carrots! Look how tall you've grown since we last saw you!" Bonnie exclaimed as she rushed over to her.

"Good evening Mrs. Hopps. And yes, it has been awhile" Carrots said, crouching down a little to give Mrs. Hopps a hug. She also hugged Stu Hopps as well.

"So, where's your partner?" Stu asked.

"I'm sorry?" Carrots asked.

"Your human detective partner" Bonnie said. "The one you helped solve those cases with."

"Oh... I think he should be arriving at any..."

I knocked on the door but stayed outside. "Is it safe for me to come in?" I asked.

"Yes of course, dear" Bonnie said. Judy was right. Carrots and I did fit in the house, and the house wasn't as small as I thought based on the pictures of the place I was shown. The houses were surprisingly big. Carrots and I aren't exactly giants compared to the Hopps family. They're up to our waists.

I stepped into the house feeling nervous. Stu Hopps approached me. "So you must be Detective Jake" he said.

"Yes sir" I said, shaking his paw.

"Detective Carrots and Judy told us so much about you." I was somewhat relieved about this. I say somewhat, because when they talked about me, at that time, they didn't know I was the adoptive brother of Nick Wilde. "So tell me" he said as he led me to the dinner table. "What kinds of cases have you solved?"

"Mostly missing items, kidnapped civilians... Missing vehicles..." I listed. I didn't want to discuss the murder case we're dealing with now. "There was this one case that lead us to the DMV and we saw Judy there with-" I was cut off.

"Oh! You told us about your partner" Bonnie said. "May we see him? Or her?"

"Sure..." Judy said nervously. She got up from her chair and walked out the door. Nick was pacing around talking to himself, rehearsing on what to say to Judy's parents, but it looked more like he was really close to having a panic attack. Judy took his paw in hers.

"I didn't mean it!" He cried out as he turned around.

"Nick. It's ok" she said softly.

"Judy, I know that they have a fox who works for them... Gideon, right? But look at me? Who knows if they'll even trust me?"

"Nick, it's ok... I can handle my father if things go sour." She began pulling him towards the house by his tie.

"That's comforting" he muttered to himself, sarcastically. Judy stepped into the house.

"Mom? Dad? This is Officer Nicholas Wilde, my partner" she said. Nick Wilde was shaking like a leaf.

"Oh... You never told me your partner was a fox" Bonnie said.

"Well..." Judy said. Stu stood up and approached Nick.

"Have you kept my daughter safe?" He asked.

"Yes sir" he answered, trying to stay calm.

"During your cases, did you make sure she was kept out of all kinds of danger?"

"Of course sir."

"And if my daughter ever gets caught and is held hostage, would you risk your life to save her?"

"Absolutely" he answered without even thinking.

"That's good enough for me" Stu said. "As long as my daughter is safe around you, then that's all that matters to me."

"Thank you daddy!" Judy exclaimed. Stu blushed and we all began to eat. It was mostly carrots, other vegetables, and fruit. During dinner, I glanced up at Judy's parents before returning to my food.

"Palm Tree Hotel, Sahara Square, am I right?" I asked as I bit a piece of celery.

"Pardon?" Stu asked. I looked up at him.

"Palm Tree Hotel, Sahara Square. You guys were there recently."

"I'm sorry how did you know?" Bonnie asked.

"Ok... Now keep in mind, I'm not a mind reader nor am I psychic" I explained. Stu and Bonnie both nodded with understanding. "Mr. Hopps-"

"Oh, just call me Stu" he said.

"Very well... Stu" I said. I felt a little uncomfortable about saying his name. "I couldn't help but notice the pamphlet of Love in the Oasis sitting on the kitchen counter. Love in the Oasis is of course a broadway musical starring mostly prey and this particular musical only plays in the Palm Tree Hotel and nowhere else. I also saw part of the tickets for the showing right next to the pamphlet, I believe it was the second to the last showing of the month that happened the night you went. And based on the small bulge in your left pocket, you went to the casino after dinner. You didn't win much, but you still won enough to be proud of. I mean those slot machines are very hard to beat. An average gambler normally wins 5 zoo bucks, but you won 15."

Stu and Bonnie began clapping. "Well done!" Stu said with a smile. "Very well done!"

"That was incredible!" Bonnie said. "Can you do more?"

"Oh I don't think that's necessary" Judy said.

"Come on, what harm is there for Jake to pull off more of this stunt?" Nick asked, feeling a little confident now.

"Ok, to be clear..." I said. "I don't want to dive deep into personal matters."

"Oh, it doesn't have to be personal, dear" Bonnie said. That was a relief. I studied her for a short time.

"Mrs. Hopps..."

"Oh please, call me Bonnie" she said with a smile.

"Bonnie..." I said nervously once more. "You have a wonderful talent of making the best pastries in BunnyBurrow. Apple cinnamon donuts with a small touch of carrots. You use so little of them, those who eat them could barely taste them. And I hear that your carrot cakes are just devine. And I would also like to point out that judging by the small brown smear on the kitchen counter... Brownies. Some of the ingredients include sugar... I see a small pile of them on the counter, a little bit of coconut because of the faint scent, chocolate sprinkles, there's a small container of it knocked over. Good thing it is sealed, and chocolate chips... Just a few pieces spilt on the counter."

"Really Jake..." Bonnie said, clapping. "Truly an amazing talent."

"Why thank you Bonnie" I said with a smile. She then turned to my partner.

"So Detective Carrots. Can you do the same thing Detective Jake can do?" Bonnie asked.

"Actually yes, but I don't do it as much as Jake does."

"That's ok, we won't force you" Stu said. "Now Nick... Tell us about you. Other than being Judy's partner in the police department." Nick gulped and took a few steady breaths. His confidence was lost again.

"Well..." He began. He sighed. This was what he was afraid of being asked. He was unsure whether or not to bring up the fact that I was his adoptive brother.

"Nick used to make and sell pawpsicles!" Judy exclaimed, before he could say anything.

"Uh yeah" Nick said hesitantly. "Yeah!" He felt confidence growing. "I used to make and sell pawpsicles... But it was only cherry flavored. It never occurred to me to try different flavors given that cherry was a huge hit." Judy knew that this was during his days as a con artist, but she kept her mouth shut about it.

"Oh I have a wonderful idea!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Tomorrow at the fair, why don't you make some of the pawpsicles? Tomorrow is supposed to be the beginning of the really hot weather." Nick laughed nervously.

"I'll think about it" he said.

"That sounds good to me" Bonnie said with a smile. We all helped clear the table and stuff leftovers into the fridge. Carrots and I volunteered to sleep in the living room.

"That went well" I said as I took off my shoes.

"Yes it did" Carrots said with a smile as she removed her boots and her black socks. We saw that there was only one sofa and only one of us could sleep on it. Bonnie then arrived with some folded blankets.

"Here" she said. "The living room gets the most heat that's why we made it the coldest room in the house. But not too cold."

"Thank you Mrs. Hopps" Carrots said.

"Oh please, just call me Bonnie" she said.

"Very well... Bonnie" Carrots said with a bow. Carrots and Bonnie watched as I lay down on the carpet and wrapped the blanket around myself.

"Are you sure you guys don't want the attic? It has two beds" she said. Carrots and I looked at each other.

"The attic is fine" I quickly said.

"Oh. Before you go jumping into conclusions..." Bonnie said. "You can choose either to sleep in the living room where it's really cold but one sofa, and a comfortable rug, or the attic that has two beds, but it gets really hot up there." We looked at each other again.

"We'll take the attic" we both said together.

"Very well" Bonnie said. She lead us up to the attic. It was perfect for two people. The beds were very comfortable and there was a fan to keep us cool. Carrots left to change into her pajamas. The attic was so hot, I removed my shirt and pants, only wearing my socks and boxers.

"Sorry" I said, covering myself with the blanket as Carrots entered the room. Even though I had boxers on, it was still humiliating. She was wearing blue pajamas that looked a little like her police uniform.

"Oh you once ran around the department like that while chasing Clawhauser" she said. "It wasn't an embarrassing sight at all."

"Hey, how he changed my ringtone to 'Try Everything' without my knowledge is beyond me. Why do you think I always keep my phone on vibrate?" Carrots giggled as she climbed into her bed.

"Ever since you started liking that song, I figured you should have it as your ringtone."

"You were part of this?" I asked. Carrots nodded, not feeling guilty about it at all. "Sly human."

"Tough human" she said.

"Tough?" I asked.

"Normally a grown mammal would be embarrassed to be out in public with only his boxers on. But you? You ran around the entire police department, including the basement looking for Clawhauser in your boxers. You know, you ran by Chief Bogo's office a total of 9 times and you checked the bullpen 12 times. And where was Clawhauser hiding?"

"He was hiding behind his desk after evading me several times. How does a cop that large get away from me?"

"He kept hiding while you kept running in different directions."

"Then I think you should've called me 'dumb human'. He was so easy to spot yet I ran by him." I was trying to hold back a laugh growing inside me. Carrots just giggled.

"Goodnight Jake" she said. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah, same here" I answered. The only light for us was from the moon shining through the window.

"I don't get it..." Nick said, lying on his back on one of the two beds in Judy's room. "I've been here for almost 2 hours and I'm still concerned about revealing our relationship."

"Nick will you cut it out?" Judy asked. "Jake is probably dating Carrots. What will your mom say if Jake even revealed that to her?"

"That's a good question because I haven't seen her in a long time" Nick said.

"But just imagine her reaction" Judy suggested.

"I can't" he said.

"You forgot what your own mother looks like?" Judy asked shocked.

"No. It's just every time I try to imagine my mother, instead I get this image of Jake with you. Carrots does look like a taller version of you. Are you two twins or something?"

"No Nick... We're not related" Judy said with a smile. Nick looked at the time.

"Good night Judy."

"Good night Nick. Don't forget to wake up early. We have a big day tomorrow."

The next morning, Stu and Bonnie were helping the neighborhood set up for the fair that was going to happen today. Judy and Carrots were in the kitchen along with the other children wrap snack and desserts in plastic wraps, while they wrapped food that came from hot pans and the oven in aluminum foil.

"So where's Jake?" One of the older rabbits asked. He was up to Carrots's neck.

"Probably still sleeping" Carrots answered.

"And where's this Nick Wilde you told me about?" One of Judy's older sisters asked.

"Probably still..." Judy was cut off when Nick entered the kitchen. He opened the fridge and began looking through it.

"You guys have milk?" He asked, unaware that there were more bunnies in the kitchen.

"Yes... Why?" Judy asked.

"It's for Jake. I went up to the attic to wake him up, but I saw that he was acting strange like he was hypnotized to not sleep. Milk snaps him out of it."

"I'll go check up on him. You help in the kitchen" Carrots said. Nick's eyes widened.

"Oh God no!" He gasped, fully awake.

"Guys, this is Nick Wilde my partner on the ZPD" Judy introduced.

"Nick, these are a few of my brothers and sisters." And by few, she means 20 something.

"Hi..." Nick said nervously. 'Jake, please be ok so you can help me get out of this predicament.'

When Carrots entered the attic, she saw me lying on the floor, on my back, staring at the ceiling. I was wearing a fresh pair of my casual clothing.

"Jake? You don't look so good" Carrots said. She bent down next to my head and placed a paw on my forehead. "You don't seem feverish."

"That's because I'm not" I answered calmly. "I've been trying multiple ways to distract myself from thinking about the case."

"Such as?" She asked, dropping her ears and looking at me a little wide eyed, worried that I might say something that could be dangerous to my health.

"I sang Kumbaya 10 times, each time in a different language, I spelled my full name 5 times, I rapped 'Try Everything' twice, and I helped myself with that orangey red stuff that came in that small container I found when I went downstairs in the middle of the night to eat 5 carrots." Carrots turned her head and saw a small round silver container near her foot. She picked it up and looked at it. She cringed when she read the label.

"Jake, this is baby food" she said. "More specifically, the newborns." I sat up steadily and exhaled.

"Is that what that was?" I asked, looking at her. Carrots tossed the container in the trash can by the door.

"Come on" she said, helping me up.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Downstairs" she answered. "You've been sitting in this room for the last four hours and I think it's time that you go out and get some sun. Plus, the fair is being prepared and they could use some helping hands."

"You're right... I need to get out more..."

"That's the spirit" she said with a smile as she lead me out the door and down the stairs.

It took a long time, but I was introduced with Judy's relatives. Well, the ones helping out anyway. It'll be a few hours until the fair began. In the meantime, Carrots and I helped out preparing the food stands, prize tables, games, etc. I was pretty sure I was going to get names wrong and probably mispronounce a lot of them.

"Where's Nick?" I asked as I helped Judy gather blueberries from the fields. She was very careful not to put me near the areas where Stu grows his night howlers. Good thing I have the cure... In my bag. I put it in there when I was undressing for bed last night.

"He's in the market with a lot of bunnies to buy ingredients. He's even gathering his own supplies. Apparently he's willing to make pawpsicles for the fair."

"I wonder how he's going to prepare them without conning his way to get the things he needs."

"I wonder that too" Judy said. We both filled our baskets up with blueberries. There's got to be 1,000 something in each basket, but who's counting? By the time, we got back Nick approached us, careful not to knock us over.

"Jake, this is an emergency" he said. I put the basket of blueberries at the table where Judy put hers. "Oh my God what is it?" I asked. He turned around and pointed.

"I don't think I'm ready for this..." He said. We were both looking at a tall slender vixen wearing a purple casual dress. She had green eyes and looked surprisingly young. Between late 30s and early 40s.

"Mom?" I asked.

"I thought she would be older. Based on how long we haven't seen her."

"She does have methods to make herself look younger than she actually is."

"How do you know all this stuff?"

"Mom tells me everything while you're at school. Oh God she's coming! Look away!" We both turned around and acted as calm as possible.

"My boys!" The vixen cried out. We both turned around and looked at her shyly. It has been a long time since we've seen her.

"Hi mom" we both said in unison.


	14. Mom

"Nick, Jake, look how tall you've grown" mom said with a grin. I walked up to her and crouched down a little. Mom wrapped her arms around me. "Why Jake, I remember when you were as tall as a rabbit"

"And now I'm almost the same height as a wolf." Mom laughed and rubbed my head. I stood up and moved aside.

"Come on Nick, give me a hug" mom said. Nick groaned with embarrassment and approached mom, giving her a hug.

"Oh! Hello Mrs. Wilde" Judy said with a smile.

"Oh, you must be Judy Hopps, Nick's partner of the ZPD. You know he's told me so much about you and you match every description he said. Even by looking at you, I can tell the characteristics he described about you are true. Friendly, brave, courageous, and sometimes, sly."

"Yes ma'am, they're all true" she said with a smile. Carrots then arrived.

"And you must be Detective Carrots, Jake's partner. How does it feel working with a human? Let alone my son?"

"Oh it's actually great!" Carrots said excitedly.

"Really? Has he been a good boy?"

"Ma..." I groaned, rolling my eyes. She glared at me.

"Sorry mom" I said.

"That's ok sweetie" she said, smiling very quickly and pulling me into a hug. "Every time he says 'Ma' I always think he's trying to say ma'am. In fact, shortly after I adopted him, that's all he called me. Poor dear didn't think calling me 'mom' was ok."

"We just got reunited and you're bringing up a sob story?" I asked.

"It's not a sad story dear, it's your own bittersweet story..." I groaned in despair.

"Carrots can you help me?" I asked.

"Are there any embarrassing stories about him?" Carrots asked.

"Well there is one" Nick said. "Christmas Day. Same year when we adopted Jake-"

"Oh God! Not this one!" I cried out, wrestling myself out of mom's grasp.

"Oh can I tell it dear?" Mom asked.

"Sure" Nick said with a sly grin.

"What happened?" Carrots and Judy asked in unison.

"You see, Jake just finished half of his Sherlock Hound books" mom began. I sat on the ground and buried my face in my hands in humiliation. "Now he recently found out about a new Sherlock Hound book. Another set of 5 easy to read stories in one. Since he was a big fan of Sherlock Hound, he asked if he could have the new collection for Christmas. I told him to have good grades and good notes from his teacher at school and I promised to give it to him. Now I knew perfectly well that he didn't go to school because at that time, I was really scared that he might get prejudiced and bullied so I bought him those books to educate himself and it worked. So I was actually going to buy it for him on Christmas even if he didn't go to school. But he was so excited, he completely forgot that he didn't go to school so during Take Your Sibling to Work Day, Jake walked up to Nick's teacher and told her about how he's a fan of Sherlock Hound, the new book, and my promise to give it to him if he was well behaved. And what happened Nick?"

"She found that so cute, she wrote a good note about him, gave him a test, told him the answer to every single question, and then wrote a giant A on it and wrote a note saying how proud she was of him." Everyone but me started laughing. "Mom was not fooled one bit."

"I can just imagine a 10-year old Jake pulling that stunt" Carrots said, hugging me from behind. Underneath my hands, I was actually trying very hard not to laugh. It was one of those funny but also embarrassing stories you don't want your family telling your friends about.

"Come on" I said, removing my hands from my face, laughing.

"Ah, there it is!" Nick laughed. "He's laughing!"

"Shut up!" I laughed, causing mom, Judy, and Carrots to laugh harder. After awhile, the laughing stopped.

"Now Carrots, are there any embarrassing stories you can tell me about Jake?"

"Oh shit" I whispered, while getting back up on my feet. Knowing Carrots, she probably has more embarrassing stories about me than mom has.

"Oh! There was this one Saturday, Jake and I went to this candy store-" I knew where this was going.

"No, Carrots please..." I said, quickly putting a hand over her mouth, muffling her story.

"I want to hear it sweetie" mom said.

"Yeah, me too" Nick and Judy said in unison. I moaned and removed my hand from Carrots's mouth.

"It's ok Jake" she said, patting the side of my face with her paw. I rolled my eyes and walked to the side. "You see, to celebrate that I've become his partner to solve crimes with, he wanted to buy me this one candy treat I really love..."

"Carrot cookies" I said.

"Yep. Now he knows I love these cookies so much he didn't care how much he spends just to but me one. Thankfully, they're not that expensive. Surprisingly cheap by the way. So we went into the store, he bought the cookies, and gave me the bag that had them."

"Aww, that's so sweet" mom said with a smile.

"Yeah, why were you embarrassed about buying her a cookie?" Judy asked.

"Oh he's not embarrassed that he bought them" Carrots said. "It's what I did to him after he bought them."

"What did you do?" Nick asked. Carrots pulled out her phone and went to her photo album. She then showed mom, Nick and Judy a selfie photo of her kissing my cheek while I had a cookie in my mouth, my eyes wide, and my face red with embarrassment. The noises of them laughing and commenting how funny and cute I looked made me even more embarrassed. Mom had more embarrassing stories to tell about us, but we really had to help set up the fair.

I noticed a large dance floor was being set up. Carrots turned her head and noticed it too. As did Judy and Nick. Judy got excited and turned to Nick.

"Do you dance?" She asked.

Before Nick can answer, I grabbed him by the arm. "For the love of God, I beg of you, don't dance... It'll be the embarrassment of you, and the death of me." I let him go. Across from the dance floor, a stage was being set up for singing. Carrots turned to me.

"Nick mentioned that you sing sometimes" she said. Judy grew excited.

"Can you sing during the fair?" She asked almost pleadingly. I grabbed Nick's arm once more.

"For God's sake don't let them make me sing! It'll be both the embarrassment and death of me!"

"Sorry Jake" Nick said. "It's BunnyBurrow Fair. One of us will have to dance and the other has to sing at one point."

"I hate you right now" I muttered.

"And I love you too, Jake" Nick laughed. Both Judy and Carrots stifled their laughter. We then helped set the fair up. The fun was about to begin, but I just know embarrassment and humiliation will be added to the equation at a point during the fair... God help me right now.


	15. BunnyBurrow Fair

Ichabod was standing near a patch of night howlers. He bent down and examined them. "Beautiful" he said to himself. He placed his gloved paw on his patella where I punched him and he snapped back into place. The thing was this... Ichabod is so cunning, it's like he has the same abilities as I do. I have a feeling he knew that I would strike him in the patella so he prepared himself by making a fake leg with materials that felt like bones. He was probably so focused on his plot, he decided to run instead of limp. Something that confused me during the fight in the parking garage. Then he yelled something about me damaging him... I'm not entirely sure if he was referring to me punching him in the 'patella'. Whatever it is he's referring to, I'm positive that I will not like it.

As he stared at the night howlers, he heard a buzzing sound. He turned his head and saw a mosquito flying around. He quickly swatted it towards the night howlers. He watched the insect struggle to fly away, but kept writing against the flowers. The poison was starting to kill it. The insect writhed and buzzed until it died. Ichabod made sure no one was around and pulled up a night howler. He put it in a plastic bag and pocketed it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone. He dialed a number and pressed it against his ear.

"I want you and your gang to grab Gazelle when she's most vulnerable and alone. I don't care when. Maybe some time this week. Oh, and one thing. I want a meeting with Mr. Manchas. There's something about him that I'm quite... Interested in finding out. If you're confused with something, come visit my apartment. And bring your gang with you" He hung up and walked away from the fields.

I was standing in front of the mirror in the attic. My shirt was off and I was removing my bandage carefully. Medical tape is far worse than duct tape, let me tell you. I peeled off the tape and saw a rather large amount of blood staining the large cloth that was taped to my shoulder. The dried up wound on my shoulder definitely won't leave a scar unlike the syringe I have to use to cure myself if I get infected by the night howler. I lightly ran my hand across the dry wound. It still hurts, but not painful enough where I couldn't move my arm. I put my Hawaiian shirt back on and buttoned it all the way up. I straightened up and sighed. The fair was about to start. I left the attic and rushed downstairs and out the door.

Rabbits, other preys, and even very few predators such as foxes and a few weasels where there joining the festivities. As a force of habit, I kept my eye out for bullies. I made my way to a tent where mom treated Carrots, Nick, and Judy to some custards. "Sweetie! There you are!" Mom said with a smile. "Have a custard" she offered.

"No it's ok, I'm not hungry" I said as I sat down.

"So sweetie... I hear you like Gazelle now. And don't deny that to me."

"Yeah..." I answered. "I like her music now."

"Jake didn't like Gazelle when he was young" Nick explained to Judy and Carrots. "Well, he didn't like the song 'Try Everything' for a certain amount of years. And then came the incident at the ZPD" he chuckled.

"Why? What happened?" Mom asked curiously.

"No really, mom... You don't want to hear this" I said.

"Jake was in the shower room one day, and he accidentally left his phone by Clawhauser" Nick explained. "Now at this point, Jake just added the song to his playlist and he wanted to keep his love for the song a complete secret. Clawhauser then made the ringtone 'Try Everything'. When Jake found out, he got so mad, he chased Clawhauser around the entire police department, wearing nothing but boxers."

"But how did he find out that it was Clawhauser if he left his phone with him?" Mom asked. "Oh! Did you use your detective skills, sweetie?"

"Well... Not exactly" I said.

Flashback:

ZPD: Shortly after Nick joined the force

Nick entered the shower room. He could hear the shower running behind one of the curtains. "Hey Jake?" He called.

"Yeah!" My voice answered over the loud noise of the water running.

"I found your phone with Clawhauser, I'll put it on top of your locker!" Nick called as he placed my phone on top of my locker.

"Ok!" I said. Nick left the shower room and waited. He heard the shower turn off and waited for about 2 minutes.

Inside, I just put on my boxers after drying myself. Before I could put on fresh clothes, my phone rang.

'I messed up tonight, I lost another fight, I still mess up, but I'll start again!'

"What the-!" I cried out. I grabbed the phone and saw that Clawhauser was calling me. "Hello?" I asked.

"Did the ringtone work?" He asked, trying not to laugh. I barged out of the shower room wearing only boxers and my phone in my hand. Nick slyly walked away.

"Ok! Who's the smart-ass that changed my ringtone?!" Clawhauser left his desk and began running after him. "Hey! Come back here!" I yelled chasing Clawhauser, ignoring the laughter and guffaws from the police and recently arrested mammals being brought in.

Present

Thinking back, it was actually funny, but back then? I didn't think it was, but the others sure did. After while, I still kelt the ringtone, but I always keep my phone on vibrate so no one will know that I still have the ringtone. "Hey Mrs. Wilde?" Judy asked.

"Yes?" She asked.

"I noticed you've been talking a lot about Jake. Are there embarrassing stories about Nick?"

"Let's see... Funny stories about Nick" mom said, putting a claw to her chin.

Nick groaned and put his head down on the table.

"Actually to tell you the truth, Jake is the one with the most funny stories" mom said.

Nick sat back up nudged me in the arm and began laughing.

"Yeah laugh it up" I said as I picked up a custard and bit into it.

"Oh! Let me tell you this one story that involved both of them" mom said. "I remember that when Jake was about to turn 11..."

"And this is where I leave" I said, getting up.

"Me too" Nick said following me. We left mom with our respective partners telling them how we started a food fight at a picnic. The fight reached to a birthday party that happened in the same park our picnic was at, and random children and families who were there as well joined in. And it all started when I playfully smashed my piece of pie into Nick's face and he retaliated by playfully slamming my face down on mashed potatoes. Even our relatives and friends joined the food fight.

Nick and I walked around the fair watching children play games, chase each other, eat, and mingle as did the older mammals. "I kinda feel bad for you" Nick said.

"No, no" I said with a smile. "Mom's right. All the funny stories and embarrassing moments are mine. I'm not ashamed of that."

"No, not that. I mean... While Judy and I were solving the Missing Mammals case, you and Carrots were solving the missing vehicle case."

"Actually that was the second case."

"What was your first case together?" Nick asked. I stopped by a game that involves rings and several bottles.

"Not worth talking about. But I will tell you that it started shortly after Judy volunteered to take the Missing Mammal case and when we finished, you guys solved it. Then there was the missing vehicle case. I can't believe that took so long..." I picked up a ring and threw it at a bottle. The ring bounced off and fell to the ground. "That started shortly after you went to the Zootopia Police Academy..." I picked up two rings and threw them at the same time. The rings circled around the necks of the bottles. "And once we found the missing bus behind the DMV, you graduated. And that bus was tiny for crying out loud. But it was worth it."

"How?" Nick asked as I threw the remaining 4 rings around the necks of the bottles.

"Gave me a chance to get close to Carrots."

"Ahh" Nick said with a sly smile. "So you like her."

"I thought we established this" I said as we both left the booth.

"I don't think we did... Are you planning to go on a date?" He asked. I refused to look him straight in the eye. Nick gasped. "You did go on a date didn't you? Oh my God, my brother went on a date with Carrots! And what's this? I believe you went on more than one date! I can see the smile you're trying very hard to hide." I couldn't help it and began smiling.

"Congratulations, you deduced something out of me for once in your life" I said sarcastically. "And how many times have you gone out on dates with Judy?" I asked.

"6..."

"Planning on going on a 7th date?" I asked.

"Yeah. But I don't know where to take her."

"I might have a few suggestions" I told him.

"Can you tell me?"

"Give me the date and time of your next date, and I'll be sure to give the names of romantic places before the deadline, how about that?"

"Sounds fair" he said. We turned our heads and saw mom approaching us along with Judy and Carrots.

"Come on guys! There's lots of fun to be had!" Carrots exclaimed as she took me by the hand.

"Indeed there is" I said with a smile. Carrots ran off in one direction, still grasping my hand. Nick smiled, shaking his head.

"Well son, I'm leaving to help out with one of the contests" mom said.

"Ok mom" Nick said.

"Be a good boy, ok?" She asked. She then kissed him on the head.

"Mom! Not in front of Judy!" Nick whined. Judy put a paw over her mouth to muffle a giggle.

"Bye son. See you later!" Mom then left to help the other parents.

"Well I guess Jake isn't the only one with the funny moments" Judy said with a smile.

"Shut up" Nick said, his face blushing bright red. Judy followed him to one of the game booths. "Hey, maybe I can win you something" he said, pointing to a booth with 5 baseballs lined up on the counter and 5 empty cans lined up on the table.

"Yeah I've seen you play this game before" Judy said, crossing her arms. "Except you used soda cans you bought from the vending machines, blanks, and set it up in the shooting range."

"I was with a few officers" Nick said as he picked up a baseball and threw it, knocking one of the cans over.

"And where were the donuts you promised them?" Judy asked, raising a brow. Nick threw another ball, knocking another can over.

"You're right, I never should've promised them donuts but to be fair, I thought it was a good idea at the time." He threw another ball but it bounced off the table and hit the ground.

"You bought them the donuts, but you gave them all to Clawhauser."

"He said he wanted them" he threw the 4th ball, but it still bounced off the table. "Hey listen uh..." He picked up the last ball and fiddled it in his hands. "I was wondering. Maybe some time later, I could take you out to dinner?"

"Are you going to pay the bill?" She asked as she played with his tie.

"You know it" he said.

"You're going to leave your wallet again so I'll pay for it aren't you?" Judy asked.

"Yes..." Nick said. "Sly bunny."

"Dumb fox."

"So it's a no?" He asked.

"Oh it's a date, Slick Nick" Judy said, letting go of his tie. "But I still want you to bring your wallet."

"Ok" Nick said with a smile. "Come on, let's go find Jake. I want to enter a contest with him."

"And I'm sure Carrots and I will enjoy watching." She took the ball from his paws and threw it, knocking the final can over.

In the apartment, five wolves were standing in front a desk. Sitting behind it was Ichabod. He removed the leg that he's been walking around in ever since my battle with him in the parking garage. "Artificial limbs, my good friends" he calmly said, leaning the fake leg against the wall. He carefully stood up and removed some belts and buckles around his waist. His real leg had been lifted up and folded back to look like he didn't have a leg. He groaned as he put his foot down on the floor. "I've been wearing that artificial limb all day today and now my damn leg is asleep!" he said groaning as he began pounding on his leg against the side of his desk to wake it up. "So tell me, what are you confused with?"

"We're ready to kidnap Gazelle" the leader of the wolves said. He was a little taller than the other four wolves and had an eyepatch.

"You're the leader Krieger, why tell me?" Ichabod asked.

"Well you're my boss. You make the shots!"

"True... But I did assign you to grab her whenever the timing is right! You're better off keeping her hostage in her own home!"

"We'll do just that!" Krieger said.

"Oh. Did you schedule a meeting with me and Mr. Manchas?" Ichabod asked.

"Yes sir. Tomorrow at 8:00 pm."

"You see that closet there?" Ichabod asked, pointing to the door to the left of his apartment.

"Yeah" Krieger answered.

"Inside it are weapons, rope, and some duct tape. Get what you need to hold Gazelle hostage."

"If we're just tying and gagging her, and holding her hostage in her own home, why do we need weapons?" Krieger asked as the wolves approached the closet. Ichabod pulled out his phone.

"Because I'll be sending someone to save her from you. Consider it his suicide mission." He began to message me.

At the fair, while Nick and I were signing up for a carrot eating contest, my phone vibrated. I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the message.

I.M.

'Expect a call from me later tonight. I have something I want to discuss with you.'

"Shit..." I whispered to myself after I pocketed my phone.


	16. Problems Rising

Ichabod was sitting at a desk by the window. On the desk were the diagrams and drawings of the night howler, a few papers filled with formulas and equations that he wrote himself, some empty vials, bottles, syringes, and other tools. He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out the plastic bag that held the night howler.

"Alright boss, we got what we need" Kriger said as he and his gang left the apartment with a bag of rope, duct tape, a baseball bat, and other supplies. Ichabod smelled something.

"Put them back" Ichabod said as he pulled out the night howler from the plastic bag.

"Put what back?" One of the wolves asked. "You said this is a solo suicide mission for someone, so we're making it deadly for him."

"Jake?" Ichabod asked. "Please, he could smell it the second he approaches the front door. It's a home invasion, not a fucking raid to blow up Gazelle's house! Put it back!"

"Yeah put the gasoline back" Krieger said.

"And also the peanuts you took from the kitchen."

"Isn't he allergic to peanuts?" A white wolf with a jar of peanuts asked. Ichabod put the night howler on the table, stood up, and approached the wolves. He grabbed the jar of peanuts and tossed them on the sofa. He then grabbed the container of gasoline and stuffed it back into the closet.

"Let me see what you idiots packed." He opened the bag and dumped out the contents. Rope, duct tape, tactical knives, handguns, mags, silencers, a baseball bat, and bottles of alcoholic ciders. "This is all you're getting. Now pack them and get out."

"Sure thing boss" Krieger said as he and his gang began packing up their supplies. As soon as they all left the apartment, Ichabod returned to the desk and examined the night howler while taking quick glances at the formulas.

He crumpled up the formulas, drawings, diagrams, and equations and tossed them all into the fire. He then began to extract the pollen, nectar, water, and poison from the flower until it was sucked dry. He then placed each of them in separate glass bottles as small as a bottle of eye drops. He labeled all of them and put them all in a small box. "I just need one more thing" he said, picking up a fifth glass bottle labeled 'Jake's Blood' and pocketed it.

He then pulled out his gun from his inner jacket pocket and ejected the mag. He removed two bullets from the mag and tossed them both into the small box along with the bottles. He closed the box and moved it aside. He tossed the dry and dead flower into the fire, stood up and left his apartment. He walked down the hall and pulled out his phone. He turned it on and went to his notes app and read the address to Mr. Manchas's house. He then sent me a text.

At the fair, the Carrot Eating Contest was going to start in a few minutes. I was with Nick and a few other contestants waiting to be seated. I felt my phone vibrate. I pulled it out of my pocket and turned it on.

'I.M.

I know you're having fun and all but I suggest you hurry up. You don't him to die, right?'

He then sent me a photo of Mr. Manchas.

'Don't worry Jake... We're both patient individuals. After all... Trying to save him is not the worst thing that you should be concerned about.'

"Something wrong Jake?" Nick asked.

"Huh?" I asked, quickly turning off my phone and pocketed it.

"Is something wrong?" Nick asked again.

"No" I lied. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just a little nervous about the contest."

"Contestants! Please take your seats!" A voice shouted. Nick, me, and the several bunnies took our seats at a large round table. I took my mind off Ichabod's text for a moment to focus on the carrots. I don't want to cause worry to my friends and mom if they see that I'm the only one in the fair who isn't showing excitement at all. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my watch. I opened it and looked at the time. 3:00pm. Ichabod didn't specify when he'll attack Mr. Manchas. "Now for the rules!" A bunny said into the mic. I closed my watch and put it back into my pocket.

Elsewhere, Ichabod was clinging onto the bottom of the train as it left Savanna Central. "Sorry ladies and gentlemen" the voice over the intercom said. "The one way track to Rainforest District is being repaired at the moment so we'll have to take the long way, starting at Savanna Square. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience.

'Don't worry... I have all the time I need' Ichabod thought to himself as he heard the groans and complaints of the mammals inside.

Back at the fair, each contestant had a plate piled up with carrots. "All contestants must finish their carrots" the announcer said. "The contestant may eat the leaves if they choose to do so. But the judges mustn't see any orange."

There were five carrots on each of our plates, a small bowl of ranch dipping sauce, and a glass of water. Each carrot was so long, if I ate one of them right now, I would've called called it a satisfying meal. "Jake, I don't think I can do this" Nick said.

"I'm nervous too" I said.

"Look at these things! How much time did the bunnies have in their hands to grow these carrots this long? That syringe that tiger gave you to cure yourself from those night howlers is about what, 5 inches?"

"Close" I calmly said. "The syringe that I have to stab myself in the heart with should I encounter a night howler is exactly 6 inches long. These carrots are about 2 feet long."

"Contestants, start eating!"

I grabbed a carrot and took a large bite out of it. I dipped the carrot into the ranch sauce and bit into it again. The shouts of guests encouraging the contestants by yelling their names rung in my ears. Even the guests shouted Nick's name, including mine. I could hear Carrots, Judy, and mom yelling both of our names at once.

Ichabod decided to make a quick stop at Tundra Town. He nonchalantly walked through the alleyways, staying hidden in the shadows. As he approached a store, he heard something that sparked an interest.

"How did it feel to become savage?" A voice asked.

"It was a really scary situation" a voice answered. "And this mark proves it."

"Oh my- that looks painful!"

"It came from a syringe filled with a really strong antidote."

"Another survivor, huh?" Ichabod asked himself. He pulled out his gun and cocked it. "This should be good."

Somewhere in Savanna Central, a police car parked outside a really nice house. Not as big as a mansion, but definitely that type where you go "Oh my God, this is a really nice house".

Gazelle stepped out of the car with her bag. "Thank you, officer" she said.

"Will there be anything else Gazelle?" The wolf officer asked.

"No thank you. I'll be ok."

"Ok. As long as you're safe."

"Don't worry about me" she said with an assuring smile. "I may live alone, but trust me... I have security cameras and systems guarding this place."

"Jake helped you with those didn't he?" The wolf asked. "To hide his embarrassment."

"How did you know?"

"Well, let's say he doesn't know that all of the ZPD knows about the backup dance thing he did" the camel officer sitting in the driver's seat laughed. "So to keep his mind off it, he helped you set these things up."

Gazelle laughed. "Yeah... That was one night I'll never forget."

"Goodnight Gazelle" the wolf said.

"Goodnight officers. Oh, and when you see Jake, can you give him a message for me?"

"Sure, what is it?" The wolf asked.

"Tell him that..." She hesitated for a minute.

"If you want, we can send him over to you when we see him."

"I would like that" she said. "Thank you."

"No problem" the wolf said. The camel then reversed out of the driveway and down the neighborhood as Gazelle entered her house. Neither the cops nor Gazelle saw another car park on her driveway.

Ichabod was leaning against the wall and dialed the emergency number and put it on speaker. "This is the ZPD, what's the emergency?" A female voice asked. Ichabod didn't answer. Instead, he pressed the phone against the ear of a wounded wolf. "Police?" He asked. "There's been a break in I witnessed- oh my God! I see him, can't talk right now!" Ichabod hung up.

"Good" he said. He aimed his gun and shot the wolf a few times in the chest. Ichabod tossed the phone next to a polar bear who had been cured by the night howler because of the scar at the back of his paw. The polar bear had several tactical knives sticking out of his back and his friend, a camel had been gunned down with five bullets into his chest. He then left the building, closing and locking the door behind him. He lit a Molotov cocktail and threw it through the window. He slipped away unseen as soon as the store caught on fire causing panic and hysteria nearby.

Back at the fair, I was only able to finish three carrots. I slumped against my chair, full, and exhausted. "And Jake Wilde is out! Will Nick win? Or will the last bunny be the winner? Or will there be a tie? If that happens then this is the first time ever where we have a tie in a contest!"

Elsewhere, in her house, Gazelle just finished taking a shower and put on her pajamas including a pair of white socks. She made sure her security systems were on before turning off the lights and going to sleep. Outside, the wolves exited their car and approached the door. "Let's pick the lock! Let's pick the lock!" The white wolf said excitedly.

"Not yet Arctic!" He said to him "We have to turn off the security cameras and security systems first you idiot! And when we go inside, don't think about trying to raid the pantry for peanuts!" Krieger whispered loudly. "And shut up! You'll wake the neighborhood!"

"But it's still the afternoon."

"Try napping, it's good for you" Krieger said. "Now... Let's find a way how to get in."

At the fair, I was throwing up behind an alleyway. I had my hand against the brick wall to support myself. Carrots was rubbing and patting my back. "No more eating contests for today?" She asked.

"I'm done with contests for the day" I said as I gagged a little. "Who won?" I asked.

"It was a tie. Nick and the bunny happened to swallow their last bit of carrot at the same time."

"Yet he was so nervous about entering" I laughed. "I knew he'd do it." I threw up again. "Sorry..." I groaned.

"I know. I wish I hadn't seen that."

"Me too..." I moaned. Carrots continued patting and rubbing my back.

"Feeling better?" She asked.

"A little" I said.

"Home remedy" she answered. She stopped running my back.

"Hey, don't I get to meet your parents?" I asked, turning to face her. I wiped my mouth with a napkin I grabbed from one of the tables earlier and tossed it on the ground.

"You will... Eventually. They're not here."

"What about your brothers and sisters?" I asked.

"With this many bunnies? Hard to say now."

"But I'm sure someone might recognize you."

"Yeah, I'm actually not in the mood to have a family reunion even if they did see me."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You're a detective..." She said with a smirk. "Put the puzzle pieces together."

"Hey, I don't know if it's because you love me-" Carrots raised a brow, cutting me off. "What?" I asked.

"Say that again" she said smiling.

"I don't know if it's because you love me" I repeated.

"No, those last three words."

"You love me?" I asked, confused about why she wanted me to say those three words.

"Yes I do" she leaned forward and licked my cheek. She then left the alleyway, smiling.

"Now wait a minute Carrots, that was not-! That was uncalled for! You hustled me!"

"I'll get you a shock blanket, Jake" she laughed.

I left the alleyway, laughing too, completely forgetting about the text Ichabod sent me.

Ichabod was clinging under the train once more. When the train stopped, he let go and landed on the tracks on his back. He rolled out from under the train and still managed to stay hidden. He had arrived at Rainforest District. He pulled out his phone, turned it on, hit a button, and pressed the record button, wanting to send me a voice message.

Back at BunnyBurrow, the fair was over, and we were all back at the house. "It was nice seeing you two boys again" mom said.

"It was good to see you too mom" I said with tears in my eyes.

"Aww sweetie, come here, don't cry" she said. "Mommy will be back, you know that, right?" My eyes were watering because my throat and stomach hurts from throwing up. I just didn't tell her I threw up. I crouched down a little and mom hugged me tightly.

"I know you'll be back" I said. "It's tears of joy that I was able to see you again!" I said loudly.

"Aww how sweet of you to say that" she said. She then released me. She turned to Nick and waited patiently.

"Oh come on mom, now?" Nick asked. "Judy and her parents are watching."

"Nicholas P. Wilde, if your brother was able to man up when his mother is hugging him in front of his partner, you can too." Nick groaned and hugged his mother.

"But Judy's watching..." He moaned.

"There's nothing to be ashamed about someone who loves you watching you being hugged by their mother" Stu said. "If you and Judy weren't dating, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"You what?" Nick asked, shocked.

"Oh, I told mom and dad about everything while you were doing the Carrot Eating Contest" Judy said. The imagery of the large carrot made me turn green a little.

"I need some water..." I moaned as I went to the kitchen.

"Well, I'm leaving. Bye sons! I'll see you later!"

"Bye mom" Nick and I said unison. Just then, my phone vibrated before Judy can explain something to Nick. I pulled out my phone and gasped.

"What is it?" Carrots asked.

"A message from Ichabod" I said.

"Who's Ichabod?" Stu asked.

"I don't know, sounds like rotten scoundrel to me" Bonnie said.

I hit the play button and put it on speaker.

"Good evening Jake. I hope you're having a fun time wherever you are. Now I want you to listen carefully because I will not repeat myself and this message will delete as soon as it's done playing. First off, I'm visiting a friend of yours. Mr. Manchas in Rainforest District. I'm sure your fox brother and bunny friends know him as well. Why don't the four of you pay him a visit? It'll be fun to see a friend again, right? Now there's another problem you should be concerned about. Gazelle. She's about to have some visitors soon and they aren't fans. Now I want you to listen closely. After your visit to Mr. Manchas, you will go to Gazelle's house alone! If I find out you brought cops, she dies. If I find out you brought your detective friend, you die in front of both her and Gazelle. Am I clear? Good. Now that we have an understanding, the train to Rainforest District leaves in 45 minutes. Don't be late, or you'll never see Mr. Manchas ever again... If you get my meaning. Come on hero... You like preventing deaths. Try to prevent this one."


	17. Ichabod's Visit

I was sitting in the train with my hands folded and my head resting against my knuckles. We were nearing Rainforest District which was a really good thing. But it was reaching Mr. Manchas that's a concern for me.

Flashback

25 Minutes Earlier

As soon as Ichabod's threat ended, I pocketed my phone and ran up to the attic. I opened my bag and grabbed the case that contained the cure for the night howler infection and strapped it tightly around my left pant leg. I decided to leave my lock picking kit and bag behind. The cure is the only thing that matters right now. I got up and went downstairs. "What's going on?" Stu asked as I rushed by him.

"A really long story. All I can tell you is that I need to get to Rainforest District right now." I opened the door and walked out.

"And I'm coming with you" Carrots said following me. Nick looked at Judy worriedly. He was so used to going places for investigations and solving crimes that going somewhere as part of a case without her didn't feel right to him.

"Go Nick" she urged. "I'll stay behind with my parents to keep them company..."

"But..." He said. "But what if-

"Nick it's ok. Everything will be fine. Just meet us back here when you're done."

"Nick!" Carrots called. "Are you coming?!"

"I love you, Cottontail" he said.

"I know you do" she answered. Nick went out the door and ran after Carrots and I to catch the train to Rainforest District.

Present

By the time we reached Rainforest District, night had fallen. Nick, Carrots, and I left the train and into the station. "Where does Mr. Manchas live?" I asked.

"Judy and I visited him once" Nick said. "He lives this way, follow me!" He yelled over the loud conversations of mammals in the area. Nick ran to the right while Carrots and I followed him.

We eventually reached his house. It was a long walk, yes, but it wasn't too long of a walk. We approached the front door. "Now the last time I saw him, he got infected by the night howlers and he's been trying to forget about it ever since he got cured so, cut him some slack" Nick said to us. He then knocked on the door. We waited for about a minute until we heard locks click and the door opened. Mr. Manchas still had the scratch marks over his eye and body from when Mr. Otterton attacked him when he turned savage.

"Good evening detectives, officer" he said. "I take it you're here for what happened?"

"What happened?" I asked.

"Come inside..." He said, opening the door fully to allow us inside. The place was dark. No lights, all curtains were closed, the moonlight may be shining, but through the thick curtains, it was very dim. Mr. Manchas gestured to the newspaper on the coffee table. I picked it up and read it.

'Panic in Tundra Town!'

'A polar bear was found dead with knives sticking out of his back, and two other mammals were found dead along with him. Gunshot wounds were the cause. According to the ZPD, a serial killer is on the loose trying to find those who have been cured by the night howlers. Among the dead bodies in the store, only the polar bear has been cured because of the scar at the back of his paw. The killer tried to get rid of the evidence by burning the store, but the ZPD arrived here just in time.'

"This is getting serious" I said. "And he recently sent me a text saying he's on his way here."

"Then we must-" Mr. Manchas was cut off when there was a knock on the door. "Quick, you three, hide!" He said. He rushed to the closet and opened the door. It was not a big closet, but it wasn't small either, but it definitely will be a little cramped inside. Carrots and Nick went inside, but I hesitated.

"Oh my God..." Nick gasped. "That's right... Jake, will you be ok?"

"I..." I said a little shakily. There was a knock on the door again. "I think I'll manage" I said, getting into the closet. Mr. Manchas closed the door and rolled down his sleeve to hide the scar from the puncture wound on the back of his paw. He then opened the door.

"Good evening Mr. Manchas" Ichabod said, tipping the brim of his hat.

"Good evening, Mr..."

"Moran... Ichabod Moran. And forgive me about the hat and collar. I feel that it would best that you don't see my face. I'm quite sensitive about anyone seeing what I look like."

"Ok..." He said with uncertainty. "Mr. Moran. What do you want?"

"Oh... This shouldn't take long at all" he gently pushed his way past Mr. Manchas and entered the house. "My... This is quite a nice house, Mr. Manchas."

Inside the closet, none of us dared to make a noise of any kind. We all could hear Ichabod walking around. "Is there a particular reason why you're here, Mr. Moran?" We heard Mr. Manchas ask.

"Actually there is..." Ichabod said. He turned to face him. "I'm looking for someone."

"And who is that person?" Mr. Manchas asked.

"Just a friend of mine. Has something to do with the night howlers." He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a tactical knife.

"A knife" Mr. Manchas gasped.

"What was that?" Ichabod asked.

"Nothing, it was nothing" he answered hurriedly.

"Apology accepted. You're probably loosing sleep and a little paranoid so I can understand that you're saying things you don't mean to say." He approached the closet and pressed his ear against it. He heard noises inside.

Inside, I was starting to breathe rapidly. "Jake, calm down" Nick whispered, looking at me with worry in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Carrots asked worriedly as she held me in her paws.

"He's claustrophobic" Nick answered. "Jake, take deep breaths, you'll be fine." I continued to breathe rapidly and felt dizzy.

"Nick..." I gasped. "Carrots..."

Ichabod turned his head to face Mr. Manchas. "There's nothing in here, right?"

"None" Mr. Manchas said rather quickly.

"Good" Ichabod said, playing it cool, knowing that we're inside. He then stabbed the door with his knife.

"But that was expensive wood sir."

"I'm sure it is" he said, leaving the knife stabbed through the door.

Inside the closet, Nick had shocked look on his face and Carrots's eyes were wide. I had to put my hand over her mouth to prevent her from crying out. It was hard for me to steady my breaths not because I was claustrophobic. But the top half of the tactical knife had cut my cheek. My eyes were shut tightly as blood began staining the knife. Carrots was breathing heavily while letting out muffled whimpers and cries. She held my free hand in her paws tightly. I continued to take steady breaths but after awhile, they became rapid again.

Outside the closet, Ichabod pulled out another tactical knife and began twirling it. "So tell me Mr. Manchas... I heard things that you once were infected by night howlers..." He placed the tactical knife on the table and left it there as if he's challenging Mr. Manchas to take it. "Now are they rumors, or are they true?" He walked back to the closet, grabbed the handle of the knife and wiggled it a little. He heard my groans of pain inside as well as a muffled cry from Carrots. He then pulled out the knife and saw almost the entire blade was fresh with my blood. "I take your silence as that they are rumors" he calmly said as he pulled out the bottle labeled 'Jake's Blood' from his pocket. He flicked the cap open and poured my blood from the knife into the bottle until it was filled halfway up. He clicked the cap back into place and pocketed the bottle.

Mr. Manchas crept over to the tactical knife and took it from the table. "Still giving me the silent treatment?" Ichabod asked calmly. "That's ok... I'll wait for you to say something." He was still facing the closet as Mr. Manchas crept up to him with the knife.

'First... Dodge to the left' (Mr. Manchas lunged at Ichabod. He quickly moves to the left)

'Retaliate' (Ichabod slashes at Mr. Manchas with his knife, cutting him a little).

'A savage fighter... But very predictable' (Mr. Manchas began slashing and stabbing at him but Ichabod kept evading and blocking them all)

'Target right shoulder' (He stabbed Mr. Manchas in the shoulder)

'Target left leg' (He stabbed Mr. Manchas in the leg)

'Inflict one more damage' (Ichabod leapt over him and slashed him in the back)

'And finally...' (Ichabod went around him, pulled him up to his feet and stabbed him in the chest).

Mr. Manchas clenched the handle of the knife tightly and took a deep breath. "Did you find what you're looking for?" Mr. Manchas asked as he crept towards him with the tactical knife behind his back.

"As a matter of fact..." Ichabod said calmly. "I did." Mr. Manchas lunged at Ichabod but he quickly moved to the left. As Mr. Manchas lunged at him again, Ichabod slashed him in the chest. Mr. Manchas began slashing and stabbing at him. Ichabod just evaded and blocked every one of Mr. Manchas's attacks. He then stabbed him in the shoulder. Mr. Manchas cried out and place his paw over his wound. Ichabod got down on one knee and stabbed him in the leg. Mr. Manchas cried out in pain. He then leapt over him and slashed him in the back. Mr. Manchas lay on the wooden floor, groaning and grunting in pain. Ichabod cut the sleeve of Mr. Manchas's right arm and tore it. He saw a scar at the back of his paw. "Hiding that from me, were you?" He asked.

"Go to Hell" Mr. Manchas growled.

"I'll get there soon" Ichabod said calmly as he pulled Mr. Manchas to his feet. "But I think Hell wants you first." He stabbed Mr. Manchas in the chest. "Nothing personal... I'm just putting you out of your misery so you won't have to worry about the night howlers ever again." He pushed the body to the floor, but kept the knife in his chest. He picked up the knife that Mr. Manchas fought him with and tipped the brim of his hat. "Thank you for your hospitality Mr. Manchas." He pocketed his knife and left the house, closing the door behind him. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and typed a text message.

'I suggest you go to Gazelle's house. If you want her to stay alive, go alone. No cops, your detective partner, no one.' He then sent the message to me.


	18. The Solo Rescue Mission

I kicked open the closet door and staggered out. "I'm going to kill him!" I yelled. Nick and Carrots quickly hurried over to Mr. Manchas. I ran to the kitchen and opened drawers and pantries. I moved aside bottles of sauces, jars of spices and seasonings, and even packets of sugar, boxes of tea packets, and salt and pepper shakers.

"First aid kit... Under the sink" Mr. Manchas groaned in pain, knowing what I was looking for. I closed the pantries and drawers and opened the cupboard under the sink and grabbed a large first aid kit box. I opened it and grabbed a folded cloth and an alcohol swab. I closed the box and quickly rushed back to the room and handed it to Nick.

"What's the plan?" Nick asked as Carrots went to the side of the room to call the ZPD. He opened the first aid kit and began grabbing alcohol swabs, medical tape, cloths, and bandages.

"Saving Gazelle" I answered as I tore the wrapper of the alcohol swab I had in my hand. I gently cleaned my wound, ignoring the sting. "Ichabod doesn't want any cops nor Carrots to be with me." I tore a piece of medical tape and taped the cloth to the large cut on the side of my face.

"It's a suicide mission" Nick said, applying pressure to Mr. Manchas's stab wound.

"I know. But at least it's giving me that opportunity I've wanted so long ago."

"What opportunity?"

"To kill Ichabod." I turned my head and saw that Carrots was still on the phone, getting help. "I'll catch you guys later."

"Be careful out there, Jake" Nick said.

"And kill that bastard!" Mr. Manchas strained. "Don't worry about me."

"You have slash marks and a stab wound" I said.

"Hey, I survived an attack by a savage otter that nearly tore my eyes out. Besides, the blade didn't go that deep so the chances of my survival is pretty high."

"True" I said to him. "Tell Carrots I love her" I said.

"She knows" Nick said assuringly. I then left Mr. Manchas's house to catch a train to Savanna Central.

Ichabod entered his apartment and approached his desk. He opened the small box and gathered everything he extracted from the night howler and mixed them all into one bowl. He began stirring everything until it became a blue colored liquid. He grabbed a medium sized plate and poured a little bit of the night howler extracts into it. He then pulled out the bottle that contained my blood and poured all of it into the plate, mixing it with the extracts. He watched my blood react to the poison. "So... Jake will die if he comes in contact with the night howler" he said to himself. He grabbed the two bullets from the small box that he put in earlier and put them both into the bowl with the extracts that didn't have my blood and began mixing the extracts and the bullets together.

While he was letting the chemical mix with the bullets, he walked over to the closet and grabbed the gasoline tank. He opened the cap, tossed it aside and began pouring gasoline all over the floors in every room of the apartment until the tank ran empty. He tossed the empty tank aside, went back to the closet and grabbed two handguns and put them in the briefcase he stole from the tiger. He then grabbed the two bullets and cleaned out the blue liquid off the shells. He put one poisoned bullet in one empty mag, and one poisoned bullet in another empty mag and put both mags in the briefcase. He closed the briefcase, locked it, and took it with him. Before he left his apartment, he pulled out his gun, cocked it, and shot the floor, watching his entire home light on fire. He turned the lock from the inside, tossed his gun into the flame and closed the door. He then walked down the hall while fire started spreading everywhere in his apartment. Since the place was abandoned to begin with, he figured the building should no longer be standing.

I arrived at Gazelle's house and saw a car parked on her driveway. Definitely not hers. I approached the front door and examined the lock. It wasn't picked. I looked at the porch and saw a tooth and a little bit of blood. I closed my eyes and began to think.

Flashback

The wolves have been planning on how to get in for so long, night has already arrived. "I've got it!" Krieger suddenly said with a toothy grin. "Arctic, don't you have a loose tooth?"

"Uh yeah, but I don't see how that's-" Krieger punched him in the face. Arctic groaned in pain.

"What was that for?!" He asked. Just then, they saw a few lights turn on from inside the house.

"Oh hell no! She's awake!" Arctic cried out.

"Perfect!" Krieger said with a smile. He punched Arctic in the stomach, and then the face, sending him sprawling on Gazelle's front porch. "Quick hide! I hear her!" Krieger said happily as he and the other wolves began hiding, leaving Arctic alone. The white wolf began groaning and moaning.

"What the-?" He asked himself. He pulled out his loose tooth from his mouth. "Damn" he said. "My tooth!" He yelled. "You knocked out my tooth! Are you happy now?! I'm not!" He groaned as he spat a little blood. Just then, he heard Gazelle coming. He closed his eyes and acting like he was dying, making exaggerated groaning noises.

Present

"What have you gotten yourself into this time, Arctic?" I asked myself as I pocketed his tooth. I examined the lock on the door once more to confirm that it wasn't picked. No one picked the lock, but it was unlocked. I opened a small hatch on the wall and saw the code box for the security systems. It was disabled. 'Did they hack into it?' I thought to myself. I examined the door and windows. No sign of forced entry. "Hmm" I said out loud to myself.

Flashback

While Arctic was lying in the porch, moaning and groaning, he heard muffled footsteps from inside the house. 'Please don't notice me, please don't notice me, please don't notice me' he thought to himself. Inside the house, Gazelle disabled the security systems and opened the door.

"Hey, are you alright?" She asked.

"No..." Arctic moaned. "But remind me to thank my brother for a very lovely weekend. I'm going to punch him in the face when I'm no longer drunk."

Krieger was watching the whole thing from behind the house. "I can't take it anymore" he whispered to himself, tired of Arctic's 'acting'. He then signaled the other wolves to strike.

The first wolf pounced and wrapped his arms around Gazelle's waist, pinning her arms to her sides. Before she could cry out, the second wolf clamped his paw over her mouth. The third wolf popped out, grabbed her by her feet and lifted them up. Gazelle struggled and screamed into the paw. The three wolves carried her into the house, leaving Arctic lying on the floor. Krieger came out from behind the corner of the house, approached Arctic and shook his head. "You are really pathetic."

"Screw you for knocking me out and locking me in the girl's bathroom, bro" he moaned, still doing his terrible acting.

Krieger grabbed Arctic by his feet and dragged him into the house. "We grabbed Gazelle already" he said. "You can wake up now."

"Don't want to... You hit me with my own pillow and gave my stuffed animals to Gazelle as a Christmas present."

"Just shut up" Krieger said. As soon as they were both in the house, Krieger closed the door but didn't lock it. Then, the wolves began to turn off all the lights.

Present

I opened the door and crept inside. I quietly closed the door and locked it. I then turned the security systems back on. I helped install the security systems the day after that humiliating moment where I was a substitute backup dancer. I've been in this house that one time and I memorize the layout of the house. 'These wolves may not be the sharpest tools in the shed' I thought to myself, but when focused on an enemy, they can be real deadly... Even Arctic.' The fact that the entire house was dark, was not only creepy, but I didn't want to give away my position. If I turn on one light, the wolves will know I'm here, and I don't want that to happen.

I crept down the foyer of the house. I have no weapon to defend myself with, but I can get one from one of the wolves if I beat him. 'Five wolves, but only one of them doesn't belong with the pack' I thought to myself. I heard noises coming from upstairs. I quickly glanced up and heard more footsteps. 'They're probably setting up an ambush' I thought to myself. I heard one of them coming down the stairs.

I quickly ducked behind a corner and waited for him to get close. As soon as he got near, I jumped out of my hiding spot, clamped a hand over his mouth and wrapped my arm around his neck. The wolf struggled and yelled into my hand. Good thing we were almost the same height, otherwise this would've been a problem. As soon as the wolf fell into unconsciousness, I checked his pockets and found a roll of duct tape. I unravelled it and taped his paws behind his back, I taped his feet together, and wound some tape around his chest and torso. I then placed a strip of tape over his mouth. I leaned him against the wall and checked his pockets again. Nothing.

I walked quietly up the stairs. When I reached the top, I leaned against the wall and remained quiet. I took steady breaths to calm myself down. I walked slowly and quietly down the hall. One of the doors slowly opened and a wolf with a baseball bat crept out of it, approaching me from behind. I quickly turned around and punched him in the face. I managed to wrestle the bat out of his paws and knocked him with it a few times in the chest, sides, and legs. I then delivered one last swing to the head, making sure that I do enough damage to knock him out, and not cause any serious injury.

The third wolf jumped out of his hiding spot and tried to attack me. I quickly placed a hand over his mouth and shoved him against the wall. I punched him in the stomach, making him let out a muffled yell. I punched him in the chest and the ribs, causing him to make muffled grunts and groans. I let go of his mouth and clapped my hands roughly over his ears, causing his ears to ring. The wolf slid down the wall to a sitting position, groaning and putting his hands over his ears. I ignored him and pulled out my phone. I turned it on and called Gazelle on speed dial. I waited patiently for her phone to ring.

Soon, I heard 'Try Everything' playing behind one of the rooms.

"Shh! Turn off that phone!" I heard a voice shout. "Turn it off! I don't want that punk Jake to know we're here! We have to set up an ambush!" The song stopped playing. I know where they are.

Inside Gazelle's room, Gazelle was tied to a chair with rope and a strip of duct tape across her mouth, keeping one of her socks inside. Arctic had a pack of ice against the side of his face. "You owe me a new tooth" he said grumpily.

"How the hell do I owe you a new tooth?" Krieger asked.

"Come here and I'll punch one out of your mouth and keep it to myself." Krieger laughed at what Arctic said. He walked over to Gazelle and caressed her face. She moaned and whimpered as she moved her face away from him.

"You'll watch as we kill your friend as soon as he walks through those doors" he snickered. Gazelle moaned pleadingly and shook her head. Krieger got up and approached the door. "Face it, the second he opens this door..." He opened the door and gasped.

"Hi" I greeted. I then punched him in the throat and face, sending him sprawling on the floor. Gazelle let out a cry of joy as I entered the room.

"Jake! You made it!" Arctic said happily.

"Lose something?" I asked as I put his tooth on his lap.

"My tooth! You found it!" He pocketed it.

I turned to Gazelle. "Can I borrow one of your shoes for a second?" I asked. She nodded her head. I walked over to Arctic and hit him hard in the head with one of Gazelle's shoes. But I didn't hit him in the head to knock him out and shut him up. Arctic began groaning and rubbed his head.

"Feeling better?" I asked.

"Oh my God, Gazelle! Are you ok?!" He dropped his ice pack and rushed over to her. "Jake, help me with this!" He said as he began untying her. "Jake it was terrible, we bound and gagged her, I was forced to put her sock in her mouth! I didn't mean to harm her."

"Hey, you got hit on the head pretty hard, went a little insane and hung out with the wrong crowd."

"How's Carrots?" He asked as I gently pulled the tape from Gazelle's mouth and pulled the sock out. Gazelle took a breath after being gagged for quite some time.

"Thanks you guys" she said. "How do you guys know each other?" She asked. Arctic stood up and straightened up.

"Detective Arctic, at your service, Gazelle" he said with a gentlemanly bow. "I've been an admirer and a fan."

"Arctic here was in my class during Detective Academy" I explained.

"Jake, there's something that I want to tell you" she said.

"Yes?" I asked.

"When you get a chance, would you mind signing a form? I want you and your detectives to be my official bodyguards" she said.

"I would be honored" Arctic said, bowing once more.

"I'm in" I said. "I'm sure Carrots, Nick and Judy, are in too."

"How many mammals were in your class in Detective Academy?" Gazelle asked.

"There were six of us" Arctic answered. He then turned to me. "Can you find the other three? Maybe they want to join too" Arctic said.

"Can't" I answered.

"Why?" Gazelle asked. My phone rang. I pulled it out and answered it on speaker.

"Hello Jake" Ichabod greeted.

"Ichabod... Detective Ichabod Moran" Arctic growled.

"Ah... So you found Arctic... How did it feel working for me?"

"Like shit" Arctic said.

"Hey listen Jake... Someone wants to say hi."

I heard muffled yells and cries. "Carrots!" I yelled.

"After I found out that Mr. Manchas was getting treated and learned of his survival, I grabbed her without anyone noticing. This has been the first time someone has survived my attacks, and that is an impossible thing to happen! Now listen up. I'm going to text you an address, you are to go to it ALONE! No funny business ok? If you come to the address with someone, I'll either kill you in front of Carrots, or I kill her in front of you." He hung up.

"Arctic... Can you stay here with Gazelle and protect her? I subdued all the wolves but I don't know when they'll come around."

"You can count on me, Jake" he said as he picked up a bottle of alcoholic cider.

"Don't you dare get drunk while protecting her!"

"I won't!" He said with a salute. I looted a handgun, a mag, and a silencer from the pockets of the knocked out Krieger and left the room.

As soon as I stepped out of the house, I received Ichabod's text. Good thing the building is close and I don't have to walk very far. I loaded the mag into the gun and headed towards the address of the building.


	19. Battle of Minds

The building was an old and dilapidated area. It was so messed up, it looked like it was going to crumble down at any moment. Parts of the roof were missing, doors were kicked down, there were cracks in windows, holes in some of them, and don't get me started with the walls. Wallpapers were ripped and torn, the entire place looked like an entire gang fight took place. I kicked down the front door and stepped inside. It didn't surprise me that the door wasn't bolted and nailed properly judging by how broken this place is.

"Ah so you made it" I heard a voice say. I looked up and saw Ichabod sitting on one of the beams on the rooftop. "I was thinking you would never make it."

"Where's Carrots?" I asked.

"You're a detective, figure that out."

"You were a detective you know" I said. The entire time I knew he was a detective, I just didn't want to remember it and wanted to keep forgetting about it for the last two years. Ichabod dropped down from the beam and landed on his feet on the floor.

"A fact that I'm most proud of" he said.

"I'm going to ask again" I said, picking up a small, but very rusty pole with concrete on the tip. I smashed the concrete against the wall. When all the concrete crumbled off the pole, it revealed a very jagged edge at the tip. I held the pole with the jagged part face down. "Where's Carrots?"

Ichabod reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out his last tactical knife and held it with the blade facing up. "She's around. Not dead, but around" he answered. He charged at me and attempted to slash at me but I quickly blocked with the pole. I tried to attack him, but he blocked it also. With every attempt to slash or stab each other, we would always block. I kicked him in the chest so hard, he not only staggered back, but he dropped his knife. I lunged forward and plunged the pole into his right shoulder. He cried out in pain. I then kicked him against the wall. I picked up his knife and threw it, but Ichabod caught it and threw it back at me. I quickly moved to the side and watched the knife crash through one of the cracked windows.

Ichabod pulled the pole out of his shoulder and tossed it aside. "You think a rusty jagged pole can stop me Jake?" He asked. I pulled out my gun and cocked it. I then aimed it at him. Ichabod began to laugh. "Would you prefer to kill me that quick and easy? Or would you want me to die a slow and really painful death after all I did?" I open fired but he moved swiftly from side to side. "What's the matter Jake?" He taunted. I shot at him again, be he dodged the bullet. "Maybe you should get back to the shooting range" he laughed. I fired another few bullets and purposefully left one inside.

"I'm out" I lied.

"Are you now?" Ichabod asked. I tucked the gun behind me and covered it with the back of my shirt. "Then why didn't you throw your gun away?" He asked as he approached me. "Or are your trying to lure me out in the open so you can shoot me? You know even if you did shoot me, I still wouldn't die. It'll take more than one bullet to take me down."

"Not if I shoot you in the head!" I pulled out my gun and aimed it at his head. He grabbed the barrel of the gun and pointed it to the side and struck me. The hit caused me to shoot the wall in recoil. He struck me again, causing me to pull the trigger in recoil again, but the gun clicked empty.

"Now you've ran out of bullets" he said, taking the gun from me. He pointed to the briefcase on a dusty and very cracked table. "In that briefcase are two guns, and two mags. One for each of us. Each mag has one bullet in them. If you're that eager to kill me, feel free to grab a gun and a mag and finish me off. But keep in mind, that I might kill you first. It's all about speed, Jake" he said as he began dismantling my gun. I stared at him for a moment.

'My advantage, his focus on dismantling my gun, his advantage, my speed. First strike...'

(I slapped the pieces of my gun out of his gloved paws, scattering the pieces all over the floor and struck him in the chest).

'Then, use speed to deliver another blow' (I then punched him in the face)

'Incoming assault, block as much as possible' (While Ichabod threw punches at me, I began blocking most of them, but a few times his fists collided with my chest, ribs, and face)

'Adjust strategy...' (I sidestepped, grabbed him by his jacket, and pinned him against the wall)

'Turn the tides' (I began punching him repeatedly in the chest)

'Then...' (I was about to punch him in the throat)

While dismantling my gun, Ichabod was staring at me. 'Come now Jake... You know I can play this game too. Block incoming assault' (He grabbed my wrist and punched me in the stomach).

'Trap arm...' (He pinned my arm that I was going to punch him with behind my back)

'Target his weakness' (He jabbed me in the shoulder which was still sore from the stab wound a few days earlier and shoved me across the room).

'Assault with punches' (Ichabod punched me in the stomach and few times simultaneously with his left and right back gloves paws)

'Opponent's assaults are never ending, need to adjust strategy' I thought to myself. (No matter how hard I tried to block, Ichabod kept assaulting me and his fists keep hitting their mark).

'Maybe...' (I tried to run away to get to a safe distance from him)

'Nice try Jake... But not fast enough' (Ichabod grabbed me and kicked me in the back of the leg sending me to a kneeling position).

'Let us not waste each other's time Jake... We both know how this fight will end' (He punched me in the side of the head, making me go limp. He then placed one gloved paw under my chin, and the other on top of my head. He then snapped my neck and let my body fall to the floor).

We both continued to stare at each other while Ichabod was almost finished dismantling my gun. 'I count 50 possible strategic ways to fight him, but all will end with me dying. There is only one way to beat him, however... Improvisation. My chances of killing him are high, surviving the fight itself, not so much.' I slapped the pieces of my gun out of his gloved paws and grabbed some dust off a nearby table and blew them at his face. Ichabod began coughing as he staggered back against the wall as I made a run to the briefcase.

He then ran after me and tackled me to the floor. I elbowed him in the chest and managed to get away from his grasp. I kicked the table over so roughly, the table fell over and broke because of the cracks. The briefcase then snapped open. Ichabod and I both grabbed one gun and one mag. At the same time, we both inserted our mags into our guns, cocked them, then aimed them at each other. Each of us had our guns aimed at each other's chests.

"Where's Carrots?" I asked as I steadily got to my feet.

"She's there" Ichabod said as he too got to his feet, pointing to the right. I looked to the right and saw Carrots duct taped to a chair and gagged in a room across from us. Her eyes were wide with horror and she was shaking her head, trying to warn me about something. I closed my eyes and focused on what she was trying say behind the strip of tape. It sounded like she was trying to warn me about... The bullet!

While I was distracted with the sight of Carrots, Ichabod shot me in the chest and in recoil, I shot him in the chest. Carrots screamed behind the tape as I staggered into the hall and Ichabod leaned against the wall. I grasped my chest, groaning in pain. I could hear Carrots breathing heavily and made noises like she was about to cry. I removed my hand and I saw not only my blood... But small splashes of blue liquid. "Night howler" I gasped.

In the room, I watched as Ichabod fell to his knees grunting, groaning, and gagging. He began coughing violently. His hat fell off his head and his clothes began tearing. His groans of pain slowly became growls. Ichabod rose to his feet and savagely tore his clothes. Standing in the other room was a black wolf with bright yellow eyes and his pupils were now slits. Ichabod began breathing heavily also while growling. I could see blood and blue liquid dripping from where I shot him. Ichabod may have cleaned the bullets, but he didn't clean them well. He reared back and let out a loud howl into the night sky before going back down on all fours.

Carrots watched as I opened the case strapped to my pant leg and pulled out the syringe. I pressed the button on the side, causing the long needle to pop out. I don't know how long I have left until I start to lose oxygen, but I got to cure myself... Fast.


	20. Fighting a Savage

I rushed over to the door, closed it, and locked it. Carrots watched as I traced my hand across my chest, trying to locate my heart. I soon felt like I was going to lose oxygen at any moment. While searching for my heart, I felt it beating against my hand. I took deep and steady breaths, raised the syringe up, and stabbed myself in the heart with it, grunting in pain. Carrots shut her eyes and looked away, letting out a muffled cry. I injected the serum to cure myself from the night howler virus. As soon as the entire serum was injected to my heart, I pulled the syringe out and tossed it aside. This will definitely leave a scar. I went over to a table and found a broken blade. I went back over to Carrots and began cutting through the duct tape. "I can't go near Ichabod" I said. "He too has some night howler poison in his blood." I slowly removed the duct tape. "And this serum won't protect me from getting infected again."

"Then how are we going to-"

Carrots was cut off when Ichabod banged against the door, growling. He tried to knock the door down, banging against it relentlessly.

"There's got to be something here we can use" I said. I walked over to a drawer and opened it. I saw two grenades, two handguns, and four mags. I took a quick glance at the corner and saw a gasoline tank. Ichabod continued to bang on the door. "Carrots..." I said. "I have a plan, and you're not going to like it" I said. She looked at me with concern. "As soon as Ichabod crashes through this door, I'm going to distract him giving you time to get out of the building, run to safe distance and report a fire."

"A fire?" She asked, confused as I equipped myself with the grenades.

"I'm blowing this building up."

"But you'll come out of this building, right?"

"I have to do everything I can to prevent him from getting out in the open and murder more mammals. I'll cause part of the building to fall on him if I have to."

"Jake, this is crazy! I'm not going to let you die! We're partners!" Ichabod banged on the door again. I loaded a mag into a gun and handed it to Carrots along with one more mag.

"Get ready to run Carrots" I said while loading another mag into the second handgun and pocketing the last mag.

"Jake, I won't-!" I grabbed her and pressed my lips against hers. I felt her tears stain the side of my face. I took a step back.

"Get ready to run!" I yelled. Just then, Ichabod burst through the door and charged at us. I cocked my gun and quickly pushed Carrots aside as Ichabod tackled me through the wall. "RUN!" I screamed. Carrots didn't hesitate and began running. Even if she heard me cry out in pain, she still kept running to get to a safe distance and call the ZPD.

I leaned against the wall with a slash mark on my chest, still holding the gun. Ichabod began approaching me, growling. I noticed a giant scar running down from the bottom of his eye, all the way down to his lower lip. I remember that. That's what he meant about me damaging him. During lunch at the academy, he attacked one student and threatened Carrots as well as Arctic and that ticked me off so much, I grabbed a knife and did that to him. According to the students, Arctic and Carrots included, I did it defending everyone, while Ichabod was the one who attacked first. To this day, it still amazes me how I was still able to stay in the academy and not egg kicked out. Thank God for friends for having my back.

I raised my gun up and open fired at him a few times. Even though he was still savage, Ichabod still dodged them the same way he dodged the bullets earlier when he wasn't savage. "Fuck" I whispered to myself. Ichabod smacked the gun out of my hand, grabbed me by the neck, lifted me up, and threw me through the wall we just came through. I landed hard on my back groaning in pain. I got up and reached for the gasoline tank and unscrewed the cap. As soon as Ichabod came running towards me, I threw the tank, knocking him to the floor. Part of him was soaked with gasoline but it looked like he didn't care. He slashed me in the chest again. I cried out in pain and staggered back. He punched me a few times and spun me around and slashed me in the back. I screamed in pain and fell to my knees. Ichabod kicked me to the floor where he slashed me.

He then grasped me, digging his sharp claws into my shoulders and hauled me up, spinning me around so I was facing him. As I tried to keep my balance, Ichabod began slashing and punching me. I weakly moved a safe distance from him, pulled out a grenade and pulled the pin. I threw it but Ichabod swatted it to the side, causing it to explode. He charged at me and punched me so hard, I flew halfway across the room and landed hard on my back. I was in such in a daze, it took me a moment to realize that I was lying next to my gun. I rested my right hand on my gun and waited for Ichabod. Suddenly, I felt him clamp his claw around my neck and pulled me close to his face. He bared his fangs, getting ready to bite me. With my left hand, I grabbed a large piece of wood and struck it a few times across the floor until it lit like a match. I then stabbed the burning wood into him. Since he was struck with gasoline earlier, he lit on fire. As soon as he opened his mouth to howl in pain, I stuffed the barrel of the gun into his mouth, cocked the gun, and pulled the trigger. The bullet went into his mouth and out the back of his head, splattering blood on the floor. I watched as his body fell to the floor and continued to burn from fire.

During our fight, some of the gasoline that Ichabod was covered with got on me as well so I too was hit with fire, but not as much. Despite my injuries, I still rolled around to put out the fire. I still lay on the floor, too hurt and tired to move. I raised my gun up and fired a few shots at the ceiling above Ichabod and watched as heavy pieces of wood and pieces of the roof fall on him, not only putting out the fire but also crushing him. I was certain that a few pieces of wood had impaled him to the floor. I couldn't tell because of the amount of pieces of wood and rooftop tiles that now buried him.

I staggered to my feet, grunting and groaning weakly. I had several bloodied scratch marks on my chest and back, bruises and cuts on my face, my lower lip bled, I got blood running down the side of my face, and a small part of my chest, arm, and leg were burned. I tossed the gun aside and sauntered out of what's left of the building. As soon as I was about 10 feet away from the damaged building, I saw cop cars arriving with sirens blaring. I fell to my knees and tiredly waved at them. I felt my eyes close and body lean to the side. I expected to hit the ground. But instead, I fell into the arms and paws of Carrots who was screaming my name and crying. I could also hear Nick and Judy yell my name as well and also crying. Mr. Manchas's unmistakeable shouts, and obviously Chief Bogo barking orders for ambulances and medics also rang in my ears. The commotion rung in my ears for a few more minutes until all became quiet.


	21. Recovery and the End

I opened my eyes and got hit with the rays of the sun shining through the window. I sat up and looked around my surroundings. I saw that I was in a hospital. Near the foot of the bed were dozens of get well cards, a couple of vases with flowers in them, and several other gifts including a limited edition Sherlock Hound book. It was a very rare copy of a Sherlock Hound book I have but it includes two cases too dark and creepy to be added in the original. Not only that, I saw birthday cards, Christmas cards, and cards greeting me a happy New Year.

The cards came from mom, the entire group at the ZPD, Nick and Judy, Carrots, Chief Bogo (On my birthday card, he drew a cartoon of me wearing a shock blanket), Mr. Manchas, the Ottertons, Clawhauser, and Gazelle. Plus other civilians of Zootopia sent their wishes to me as well. I looked at the mirror on the wall and saw that I was healed completely. No scratch marks, no burns, no bruises, nothing. I began moving my arms and limbs expecting to feel pain, but didn't feel any pain at all. Not a single sore or even a slight sting. Not even a burning sensation. I looked at where my heart is and saw a scar from the syringe I stabbed myself with to cure the night howler inside my blood. There was a knock on the door. "Come in" I said. The door opened and Nick, Judy, and Carrots entered the room. Carrots rushed over to me and hugged me tightly, crying on my shoulder.

"I'm ok Carrots" I said assuringly. The others saw that I was unaware of the situation.

"Jake... You were in a coma for one year" Nick said in a serious tone. "The doctors and nurses said that you might not be able to survive your wounds, but after a 12 hour surgery, and many months of recovering, look at you, up and awake with not a single scratch... Minus the scar on your heart" I hugged Carrots back, with a shocked look on my face from the realization.

"I was here for one year? I must've missed a lot." Carrots released me from her hug and went back over to Judy and Nick.

"Actually no" Judy said, smiling, relieved that I was ok. "We finally told the entire ZPD that we were dating and that it went on for awhile" she grasped Nick's paw. "You should've seen how happy they were."

"Did he propose yet?" I asked.

"Ok... You just woke up from a one-year coma, don't get ahead of yourself" Nick said.

"You went on a total of 5 dates in the course of this one year, didn't you?" I asked with an unamused look on my face. I couldn't believe that it has been one year and my brother hasn't proposed to Judy yet. They went on countless of dates and he isn't considering on marrying her? There must be something wrong with him. "And Carrots, what about you? What happened-?"

"Don't worry Jake" she said with an assuring smile. "I'm still with the ZPD. While you were recovering, I worked alongside Detectives Judy and Nick."

"Detectives?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Judy said excitedly. "We used to be called Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde! Now it's Detectives Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde! How cool is that?!"

"Very cool" I answered with a smile on my face.

"And we got a new recruit" Nick said with a smile. Entering the room was Arctic. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh my God... Arctic?" I asked. "Arctic joined the group?"

"Jake! Welcome back!" He shouted. "I knew you would pull through!"

"What month is it?" I asked. I was going somewhere with it.

"September 17th. Why?" Nick asked.

"Arctic, this time last year, when we saved Gazelle from her house, she was 100% sure that we would be her bodyguards... Why aren't you with her right now?"

"Oh... About that" Arctic said with a smile. "While you were in that coma, I came up with this idea for Gazelle so that we wouldn't be running back and forth between being detectives and her bodyguards at the same time."

"You forcefully resigned yourself, me, and Carrots to be her bodyguards?!" I asked in shock. "What the hell kind of plant have you been smoking?!"

"Think about it Jake... Part time singing sensation... Part time Detective."

"She works for us now?" I asked. Nick, Judy, Carrots, and Arctic all nodded with agreement. "Who's her partner?" I asked.

"Let me put it this way" Arctic said. "Some days she works with Clawhauser at the reception, some days she works as Chief Bogo's assistant, though I'm pretty certain it's the other way around, and there are some days she goes out and catches criminals. I tell you, she catches a lot of criminals by surprise when she walks up to them and hustles them."

"Hustles them?" I asked.

"Yeah, she tricks them into revealing whatever crime their planning by flirting with them and then she reveals that she is a cop" Nick said with a laugh. "You know she's the only female cop in the entire ZPD brave enough to do something like that."

"How long has she been with the ZPD?" I asked.

"Three months" Carrots answered. Nick picked up the bag he had come with.

"I got you something. A late birthday and Christmas gift and a Welcome back present because I knew you would make it in one box" he said, putting a large wrapped gift on the bed. I picked it up and shook it. I then glared at him but a smile was slowly growing on my face.

"No way" I said. Nick began stifling his laughs.

"I was out for one year... In a coma..." I began to tear the wrapping paper. "And the first thing that pops into your head..." I opened the box and dumped out its contents. "Is to get me more of your casual clothing?" Three sets of Nick's casual clothing including pairs of white socks slid out and onto the bed. Nick burst out laughing. "How thoughtful can you get?" I asked, giving him a hug.

Arctic looked at the clock. "Well I guess we should head out. The doctors and nurses would want to see him at some point."

"Yeah I think that would be best" Nick said. Carrots packed Nick's present back into the box and picked it up.

"I'll drop this off at our home Jake" she said.

"What about the cards and other presents?" I asked.

"Oh we'll take care of those too" Judy said.

"And those flowers?" I asked.

"And the flowers too" Arctic answered. I leaned back against the pillow. One year. I was in a coma for one year and now I'm back. Back from the longest 'sleep' I ever had.

Several hours later, after I was checked by the doctors and nurses (they wouldn't tell me how they cured me, but they did tell me that they were shocked that I recovered), getting checked out of the hospital, of course after staying there for another two hours and helping Nick, Carrots, Judy, and Arctic move the cards and gifts to my home (Apparently Carrots and I still live in the hotel room), a long shower, and putting on a set of Nick's casual clothing including white socks and brown shoes, we all headed to the ZPD.

"Now no one here knows that you're out of your coma" Nick said as he parked the police car. "So take steady breaths" he said.

"I think you need to tell them to take steady breaths" I said, "I mean they haven't seen me for a whole year." I got out of the car and closed the door. Nick and the others got out of the car as well. "Ready to go in Jake?"

"Not really" I answered as I approached the front entrance with the others following close behind me.

"Jake!" I heard two officers call at the same time.

"Here it comes" I said quietly to myself. Two wolves tackled me from the side.

"Jake! You made it!" One of the wolves yelled.

"We all thought those wounds would never heal! Those doctors and nurses did a really great job!" I don't know how they did it, but those doctors, nurses, and surgeons did a great job putting me back into shape. The two wolves got off me and rushed into the building.

"Hey guys! Guess what?!" One of them called as Arctic, Judy and Carrots entered after them. I got to my feet, but before I could enter, Nick grabbed my arm.

"Hey Jake, listen uh..." He scratched the back of his head.

"What is it?" I asked.

"At the hospital, when you asked me if I proposed to Judy, I was actually going to propose to her today."

"Well then go for it" I said.

"But you just got out of a one-year coma for crying out loud."

"And you're about to make if not the biggest choice in your life. Spending your life with your partner and the bunny you love." I looked back at the entrance. "Now there's two things we can celebrate today."

"Are you sure you want this to happen?" Nick asked.

"If you want, I can kneel in front of Judy with the engagement ring and say 'Judy Hopps, will you marry my brother Nick Wilde?'. I mean I will do it of you're that nervous."

"I'll do it" Nick said.

"That's the spirit" I said, rubbing his head. I then entered the building.

"There he is!" Clawhauser exclaimed. The entire ZPD began applauding as I entered the building.

"Welcome back, Jake!" A female snow leopard yelled.

"Gave us a scare there, mate!" A tiger added.

"Welcome back, Detective Jake!" Another officer called. I received pats on the back, I shook paws and hooves with fellow officers, I was given a massive hug by a polar bear. It helped because he cracked some of my stiff joints. He set me back down and I cracked my neck and some joints again. I walked around the ZPD to get that great feeling of being back after being gone for so long. As I did so, Gazelle approached me.

"Welcome back Jake" she said with a smile. She was wearing a ZPD uniform.

"Thank you Detective Gazelle..." I said with a smile.

"And I want to thank you as well. For keeping me safe." I knew she was referencing everything I did last year. She gently pulled my head down and kissed the top of it.

"It was not a problem" I said. "So how does it feel working for us?"

"Working with fans to keep the city safe? I can get used to this."

"You were the top of your class weren't you? In the Zootopia Police Academy?" I asked.

"That's right. The class was so distracted with the fact that I enrolled, they were having trouble going through the obstacle course. You have no idea how much I enjoyed listening to the instructor yell 'You're dead' to the students."

"Yeah I've been there." Gazelle looked at me questioningly.

"You attended the Zootopia Police Academy?" She asked.

"No, Detective Academy works the same way. Instead our obstacle courses are various crime scenes in the various locations. Tundra Town, Sahara Square, and Rainforest District to name a few."

"Who was your instructor?"

"The polar bear that instructed you? It was her twin sister." Just then, we heard gasps. I knew what was happening.

In the lobby, Nick was on one knee in front of Judy. She had her paws over her mouth, her violet eyes widened with surprise, and her ears dropped down. "Judy Hopps" he began. "You were my partner for the ZPD for one year and five months and ever since we solved our first case as partners, that was when I started to have feelings for you. I'm sorry that it took me this long to work up the courage. So..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black velvet box with a gold ring inside. "Detective Judy Hopps, will you marry me?"

"Detective Nick Wilde, I'll be happy to marry you!" She shouted with excitement. She took the ring from the box, put it on her finger, and gave him the tightest hug she ever gave. I felt a paw grasp my hand. I turned my head and saw Carrots looking at me with a smile on her face.

"It's great to have you back with us" she said.

"I know" I said. We both shared a quick kiss on the lips. I don't know how the doctors cured me of my wounds and burn marks, but they did a real damn good job with it. I also may not know how I, a human ended up here in an anthropomorphic environment, but ever since I was 10 years old, I've been proud to call it my home. My phone vibrated. I reached into my pocket and pulled it out.

"Hi mom" I greeted. "Yeah I know. Nick got engaged. I'm happy for him too. I'm sorry I've worried you for a whole year but I'm back now. I know you're busy, but it doesn't take a detective to know how you much you missed me. You know I love you too. Send the rest of the Wilde family my love too. Bye mom. Love you too." I hung up and put the phone in my pocket. I watched as the ZPD congratulate the new engaged couple. I smiled as a tear of happiness rolled down my eye. My brother is getting married. I couldn't be happier.

The End

Thank you for reading Detectives of Zootopia! I hope you enjoyed the story. Because of my enjoyment of writing this story, here's a sneak peek for the sequel

I looked around the room, shining the flashlight around the walls and floor. Carrots and a few officers were also at the crime scene. A wolf was lying on the floor with a few bullet wounds on his chest. "No sign of forced entry" I said.

"Maybe his killer was outside?" An officer asked.

"No bullet holes through the windows" I said. "So his killer was already in the house." I entered the kitchen and looked around.

"So why was he murdered?" Carrots asked.

"Better question" I said in such a way that caused Carrots and the all officers in the house to join me in the kitchen. "Which deadly sin this wolf commit?"

Written on the wall in blood was: Deadly Sin: 1/7

"Seven?" Carrots asked.

"Seven Deadly Sins" I said. "Gluttony, Greed, Pride, Lust, Envy, Wrath, Sloth. We're going to be expecting six more dead mammals that committed one of the remaining six Deadly Sins once we find out which Deadly Sin this wolf committed."


End file.
